This question was actually asked on behalf of Huang Taiji, so Huang Taiji was also full of curiosity.
"To be honest, I and Sun Chuanting are both Jinshi in the same discipline. We also worked together to wipe out the bandits who passed through the pass."
Hong Chengchou said softly.
This is indeed the case. In the 44th year of Wanli period, in the Bingchen imperial examination, he got the 14th place in the second class, while Sun Chuanting only got the 31st place in the top 3 class.
Therefore, he stayed in the capital from the beginning, while Sun Chuanting was granted the title of magistrate of the county.
Later, the gap widened step by step. As early as the fourth year of Chongzhen, he served as the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi. It was not until last year, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, that Sun Chuanting took up this position.
In the imperial examination, there is one step behind, one step after another.
What is even more surprising is that Sun Chuanting has now become the pillar of the Great Ming Dynasty, while he, the pillar of his predecessor, has become a prisoner without any official position.
When he heard the word Jinshi, Fan Wencheng's eyes darkened and he felt a little uncomfortable.
At first, he was just a scholar.
"Sun Chuanting, among the Jinshi of the same discipline, has a rather upright character. He never bends the law and enforces the law very strictly. Because of this, he served as the governor of Shaanxi and had no choice but to clear the military settlement, which offended many gentry."
Hong Chengchou lamented: "The officialdom is turbid, and it is extremely rare for Sun Chuanting to be able to maintain himself."
As he said this, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but tell an interesting story.
When Sun Chuanting was appointed magistrate of the county, his father died when his wife died, so they got married and lived in a cottage. The newlywed wife lived with her mother.
However, a gangster put on mourning clothes and entered his fiancée's room at night (in ancient times, the couple did not meet before the wedding, so the fiancée did not know her husband's true appearance). When his mother found out, she scolded her son for being unfilial.
As a result, the son kept watch at night and discovered the gangster's arrival. He took off his clothes and belt and was unable to catch up with him, so he ran away.
The fiancée had no choice but to hang herself, the filial son also hanged himself, and the old mother had to take her mourning clothes and file a complaint.
Sun Chuanting directly summoned all the tailors in the city to find out the gangster, and found out that he was the son of a Beijing official and was attached to the eunuch party, so he was quite powerful.
But he was still unafraid and personally escorted people to invigilate the examination. Since the death penalty required review by the Ministry of Punishments, to avoid accidents, he directly used the punishment and said "the thief escaped from prison" and made people die in prison.
This was also the reason why he had troubles with his officialdom in his later period, and had to resign and stay at home.
Because he was very concerned about the Ming court, Huang Taiji was also very interested in Sun Chuanting's affairs. He listened carefully and couldn't help but sigh:
"He is truly a great talent. There are so many talented people in the Ming Dynasty."
"There are many talents, but the Ming court doesn't know how to use them."
Fan Wencheng couldn't help but laugh and said: "In the past sixteen years, eighteen chief ministers have been replaced. Orders have been changed day by day, which will cause endless troubles. But our country's Holy Lord is in charge, and if everyone uses their talents, he will surely dominate the world."
"Hahahaha!" Huang Taiji laughed, accepting the flattery unceremoniously.
"Mr. Hong, please continue."
Hong Chengchou handed over his hand and continued: "He is also upright in character and decisive in using troops. This time the Ming court forced him to obey, and he will definitely obey the Ming court's pressure. He will also take the entire army and complete the battle to satisfy the court."
"However, I know very well about the intruders. They have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of elite old thieves. As long as they don't confront the enemy head-on and waste away little by little, they will definitely not be able to support them with just the money and food from the Ming court."
"You mean, Sun Chuanting will be defeated because of lack of money and food?"
Huang Taiji was stunned, quite surprised by this conclusion.
Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "The land of Henan is thousands of miles away. It is extremely difficult to obtain food. It is really not a good battlefield."
"Moreover, the Ming court does not have many reinforcements, let alone much food. If I were a traitor, I would surround and wear down Sun Chuanting's 100,000 Qin army with superior force. Besides, they are newly trained soldiers. How many days can they last?"
"This is a clear plan!" Fan Wencheng shouted softly.
"That's right!" Hong Chengchou shook his head and said, "But Sun Chuanting has to do it for you."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Huang Taiji immediately knew what it meant and said, "Emperor Chongzhen can't wait any longer."
"In the Battle of Songjin, everyone outside the pass was devastated. He wants to take advantage of us to recuperate and end the civil strife as soon as possible to resist our invasion."
As he said that, his face turned red, as if a mouthful of blood was about to come out. Fan Wencheng quickly took out a handkerchief to catch it, and then quickly handed it to the waiter beside him: "Take it and burn it."
Soon, some black smoke lit up on the side.
Huang Taiji breathed a sigh of relief, sat down and sneered: "Emperor Chongzhen is a very eager and mean person. He wishes he could get results right away, but he doesn't know how it can be so easy to do things by man."
"Sun Chuanting had been guarding Guanzhong for more than a year. Of course he had doubts and forced him to send troops."
"According to Mr. Hong's words, there is a high probability that Sun Chuanting will be defeated. I am afraid there will be big changes in the pass."
"What about us?" Fan Wencheng couldn't help but ask.
"Just wait and see what happens!" Huang Taiji said calmly: "As for Wu Sangui, send more people to Wu Sangui, even if it means he can be crowned king."
"Yes!" Fan Wencheng responded.
Hong Chengchou watched from the side, smiling bitterly in his heart.
This pair of monarchs and ministers had thoroughly studied the entire Ming Dynasty and had countless spies. How could the Ming Dynasty win?
…
Under the pressure of the supervisor Su Jing, the gentry inside and outside Xi'an, and the imperial court, Sun Chuanting swore an oath at the Guandi Temple in Xi'an on August 1 and decided to lead 100,000 Qin troops eastward out of Tongguan.
According to Sun Chuanting's plan, Zuo Liangyu was the left army, Sichuan Army Qin Yiming was the right army, and he was the center army, attacking Li Zicheng from three sides.
A hundred thousand troops, vast and vast, stretching for hundreds of miles, as far as the eye can see.
As the head of the craftsman camp and chief medical officer, Zhu Yixi came last. Even, with some words, he was left in Tongguan to guard Tongguan together with General Li Jizu.
In this battle, Zhu Yixi's role was minimal, so he did not act in a hurry.
After a trip to Jinxian Temple, Miaoxian took care of their beloved children. The cold and long-legged Miaoxian couldn't help showing a bit of dignity. She gritted her teeth and said, be careful, and ran back with a blushing face.
Afterwards, Zhu Yixi returned home, which is the courtyard of his own Jinyiwei Qianhu residence.
On the side, Zhu Mou, Zhu Meng, Zhu Jing, and three others were there.
"Has the tunnel been dug?"
Zhu Yixi looked at the dark tunnel and couldn't help but wonder.
"Sect Master, we have planned to dig together from outside the city and inside the city. We will be able to connect them in about three or four days."
Zhu Mou said softly.
"The main reason is that we are slow here. There are 2,000 people outside the city, and we only have about a hundred people."
"I can stay for a few more days."
Zhu Yixi nodded and said: "I must understand it in the next few days."
This tunnel is a great opportunity for counterattack in the future.
And it is hidden in the underground prison of Qianhusuo. It is extremely confidential and no one can think of it.
"Big head!"
"Sect Master!" Zhu Meng responded hurriedly.
"Five days after I leave, I will lead the army to Tongguan under the pretext of transporting baggage."
With that said, Zhu Yixi took out a token, which was a customs clearance token and a fake letter, just in case.
After taking a look here, Zhu Yixi murmured: "I hope it won't be needed."
It's a pity that if he takes a Ming Dynasty time travel, he will be able to predict things like a god.