In the afternoon, Qionghua Island is as beautiful as an overseas fairy island against the backdrop of blue waves. What is even more rare is that today, the usual noise of silk bamboo and singing and dancing between the pavilions and corridors of the Leopard Room on the west side of Qionghua Island is missing.
Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty had no intention of entertaining today, because he had to do business. The rebellion of King Anhua had already made him feel a little dangerous, but now the bastard Cao Xiong, the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi Province, used troops to attack without authorization. As a result, he was completely defeated and his life was lost. This is simply too bad.
Cao Xiong is dead, but after losing this battle, the rebels may have become more arrogant. This is what everyone was worried about when they were discussing before. The imperial court sent troops to quell the rebellion, but they were finally defeated by the rebels. The morale of the rebels was probably high at the moment. The traitor Zhu Zhixiu was probably smiling crookedly. This made Zhu Houzhao very angry and frustrated, and even felt a hint of real danger.
At this moment, Zhang Yanling was sitting in front of Zhu Houzhao. The seventeen-year-old boy looked at his uncle with eager eyes. Since the battle of Dushi City, his uncle Zhang Yanling's position in Zhu Houzhao's mind has risen to a higher level.
Zhu Houzhao did not regard Zhang Yanling as his first choice to counter the rebellion. But when Zhang Yanling sat calmly in front of him, Zhu Houzhao remembered the night when Dushi City was besieged by tens of thousands of Tatar troops. .At that time, when he was at a loss and extremely frightened, Zhang Yanling sat in front of him with such a calm expression, telling himself that they would definitely break out alive. And he did indeed do it.
"Uncle, do you know why I invited you here?" Zhu Houzhao asked softly.
"Of course I know." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
"Can uncle help me solve this matter? I'm almost annoyed to death." Zhu Houzhao said.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely quell the rebellion, capture Zhu Zhixiu and all the rebels, and escort them to the capital to hand over to the Emperor." Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
"Okay! I want what my uncle said. Among all the people, I only believe in your words. I know that you have never let me down. Then I am relieved." Zhu Houzhao said loudly.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "The emperor is actually a little worried, isn't he? So he asked his ministers to ask before issuing the decree."
Zhu Houzhao said softly: "Although my uncle is capable, this is the first time that he has led an army to suppress a rebellion. And this matter is extremely important and cannot be tolerated. I invited my uncle to come, so I wanted to ask him if he had any questions." Confidence. On the one hand, I don’t want the counter-rebellion to fail, and on the other hand, I don’t want to force my uncle to counter-rebellion, only to end up harming him. Once the counter-rebellion fails, we will be held accountable.”
Zhang Yanling nodded, feeling a little warm in his heart. Zhu Houzhao still had some feelings for him. He gave himself a chance to regret it, so as not to be punished if he failed in the expedition. Of course, in the end, he still wanted to know whether he was sure and whether he could make it happen. He feels at ease.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I am very touched. But at this time, when I am serving the Emperor, I will never give up. I will not let the Emperor down. I will definitely succeed in suppressing the rebellion." Zhang Yanling said solemnly. .
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "I believe you. My uncle will not let me down. However, can you tell me how you will quell the rebellion?"
Zhang Yanling pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Four words: adapt to changes."
Zhu Houzhao said oh, looking a little disappointed.
"I am not trying to deal with the emperor, this is what I am saying from my heart. The water is impermanent and the soldiers are unpredictable. I am not Zhao Kuo who talks about war on paper. The enemy does not know the wooden bumps standing there. I cannot talk to the emperor thousands of miles away.
Counterinsurgency strategies. Everything needs to be responded to according to the actual situation." Zhang Yanling said.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "It makes sense, so I won't ask any questions. Since my uncle is confident, I will leave this matter to him. I will order someone to issue an order soon. When does your uncle plan to set off?"
Zhang Yanling said: "The military situation is like a fire, we will leave tomorrow."
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "Okay, then I will practice it for you tomorrow."
Zhang Yanling waved her hand and said: "That's not necessary. Your Majesty just needs to agree to a few conditions."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "Conditions?"
Zhang Yanling said: "It's not a difficult thing to do. The first thing is that I want to bring some soldiers and horses from the Zhenwei Camp there, and I want to ask the emperor for permission."
Zhu Houzhao said: "Do you want to take the soldiers and horses of Zhenwei Battalion to quell the rebellion?"
Zhang Yanling said: "Not all of it, just bring some of it."
Zhu Houzhao said: "But I will issue an order to order Yansui reinforcements and Shaanxi Town reinforcements, together with the Ningxia central defender troops and horses, to be at the disposal of you and Yang Yiqing. The capital is so far away from Ningxia Town, you take Zhenwei Battalion with you
Go to that
How many days will it take to arrive? Besides, the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp cannot leave the capital easily. Don’t you think these soldiers and horses are enough? Didn’t my uncle say at the beginning that ten thousand soldiers and horses are enough? Taken together, these soldiers and horses are five
Ten thousand troops."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Your Majesty, I am going to bring only three thousand cavalry as my bodyguard camp. With them, I can use them more easily. There are some things that need to be done by my own people, and I don't want to do that."
Wrangling with others to mobilize some troops."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said: "It seems that you are dissatisfied with leading the army with Yang Yiqing? Do you think Yang Yiqing will hinder you?"
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "I don't mean that. I like to go my own way, and my strategy may not be understood by others. Instead of that, I won't waste my words. These three thousand cavalry are to allow me to have
There is more room for action, instead of having to discuss everything with others.”
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and asked, "What other conditions are there?"
Zhang Yanling said: "The second condition is that I hope that the emperor will believe me. Unless it is the memorial in my own handwriting, I hope that the emperor will not believe anyone's report about me. I don't want to suppress the rebellion at the front, but be beaten by others."
Stab in the back. Even if someone says that I am dead, the Emperor will have to see my body to believe it."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "Who would stab you in the back?"
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "I'm just making an analogy. I hope that the emperor will trust me completely. It doesn't mean that someone will really stab me in the back. I only have these two conditions, that's all. If the emperor can agree to this, I will meet you tomorrow."
It’s time to leave Beijing.”
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "I promise you. I hope uncle will not disappoint me. I am waiting for your good news."
Zhang Yanling thanked him loudly and kowtowed.
…
Liu Jin was sitting in a room near the gate of the Leopard Room, staring at the door of the Leopard Room. He saw Zhang Yanling hurriedly leaving the door of the Leopard Room, stood up and looked outside.
The emperor summoned Zhang Yanling in the afternoon. Liu Jin deliberately avoided meeting Zhang Yanling because he was afraid that he would not be able to control his verbal conflict with Zhang Yanling. Besides, he and Zhang Yanling had nothing to say. The only thing Liu Jin wanted to confirm was one thing.
, whether what Qian Ning said that day was deliberately colluded with Zhang Yanling to deceive himself. He needs to know the truth.
Not long after, a person pushed the door open and came in. It was Gu Dayong.
"Eunuch Liu..." Gu Dayong walked quickly and called out in a low voice.
"How is it? Have they met?" Liu Jin asked in a deep voice.
"We met. Zhang Yanling came out from the emperor's place and went to meet Qian Ning. The two of them hid in Qian Ning's room and talked. I asked Sun Xiaosi to go and spy. Sun Xiaosi reported that the two of them were talking in a low voice and could not be heard.
Very clear. But when he heard Zhang Yanling couldn't help but thank him, he also took out a large stack of banknotes and stuffed them into Qian Ning's arms. He said that if you work hard, there will be benefits later. Sun Xiaosi was afraid that they would find out, so he slipped out.
." Gu Dayong said in a low voice.
Liu Jin's face was livid, and his teeth were clenching. Although he had long believed that Qian Ning and Zhang Yanling had collaborated to deceive him, when this was confirmed, Liu Jin was still trembling with anger.
Qian Ning acted so humbly that day and vowed to be loyal to him, but it turned out that he was just putting on a show for himself. He just deliberately revealed those words to himself and let himself be deceived. Fortunately, he believed it, and Cao Xiong was in vain.
He lost his life and made things so difficult.
"Go and tell Qian Ning that our family has something to say to him. You take him to the east to wait for our family at Dulongtan." Liu Jin said in a deep voice.
Gu Dayong was startled and whispered: "Eunuch Liu, what are you..."
Liu Jin did not answer, but said in a deep voice: "Go as soon as I ask you. Why do you ask so many questions? We are going to see the emperor and will be there in a while. Remember, don't let anyone know about this. You take him from the north
Go out through the small door without being seen."
Gu Dayong looked solemn and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, father-in-law, we will go there right away."
Liu Jin nodded slightly, watched Gu Dayong leave, and quickly walked out.
…
Qian Ning was in his room with the door closed, counting a large stack of banknotes that Zhang Yanling had given him. There were a lot of banknotes, but the denominations were not large. There were dozens of them, ten taels each. Zhang Yanling was in a mess.
Putting it in his arms, he had to sort it out.
Qian Ning didn't want to see Zhang Yanling. When Zhang Yanling came to Baofang to meet his driver, he had deliberately hidden in the room to avoid meeting Zhang Yanling, but Zhang Yanling still came to him in a brazen manner.
He had a ghost in his heart and was afraid that Zhang Yanling would see the secret in his heart.
That day, he said some embellished words in front of Liu Jin. Those words were not what Zhang Yong wanted him to say, but were his own decisions.
Qian Ning's purpose was to sow discord between Liu Jin and Zhang Yanling, so that they would form a mortal enemy. He hoped that with Liu Jin's help, he could solve the threat of Zhang Yanling for himself.
Zhang Yanling took advantage of him and was forced to spy on Zhang Yanling and work for him. But Qian Ning was never willing to be controlled. Moreover, if Liu Jin found out about Zhang Yanling's spying on Liu Jin and the others in the inner court, he would have no chance of survival.
. That’s why he took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and said those words in a smart way.
During this period, he was actually a little worried, fearing that Zhang Yanling would see through him. He was also afraid of being seen through by Liu Jin. Therefore, when Zhang Yanling came to see him, Qian Ning was very nervous. He did not expect that Zhang Yanling gave him so many banknotes and even
She said many words of thanks to him for his efforts. Although Qian Ning felt strange, at least he said that the matter was not a mystery.
After Zhang Yanling finally left, Qian Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Zhang Yanling didn't notice anything strange. Originally, it was impossible for Liu Jin to have anything to say to Zhang Yanling now, let alone ask about the conversation that day. This
I'm afraid only you know the secret.
There are only a few hundred taels of silver, but don't give it up. Qian Ning folded the banknotes and put them in his arms. He felt a sense of self-satisfaction in his heart. At the same time, he played with Zhang Yanling and Liu Jin in the applause. This feeling was very wonderful. .
Zhang Yanling is ridiculous. He thought he could control himself. He would definitely let him understand how much 'use' he would bring to him. Liu Jin was even more stupid. His words were so full of loopholes that he actually did the same. I believe it. Cao Xiong's defeat must have been caused by Liu Jin's order for him to attack. This dead eunuch is really brainless. No matter how brave Zhang Yanling is, he doesn't dare to make a fuss about counterinsurgency. He has already boasted so much. Didn't he just want to lead the army on an expedition? Liu Jin even believed her own words that Zhang Yanling would lose on purpose. She was really stupid.
Qian Ning was thinking proudly when there was a knock on the door. Qian Ning stuffed the banknote into his arms and asked in a deep voice: "Who?"
Gu Da used his drake voice: "Manager Qian, this is our house. Why are you doing this with the door closed in broad daylight?"
Qian Ning said hurriedly: "It's nothing. I'm a little tired. I just need to take a rest for a while. What can I do for you, father-in-law?"
Gu Dayong said: "There's nothing wrong. Eunuch Liu asked our family to invite Manager Qian, saying that he has something to say to Manager Qian. Manager Qian, our family will accompany you to see Eunuch Liu."
Qian Ning was stunned and cursed in his heart. It seemed that he had to explain something to Liu Jin. Zhang Yanling entered his room, and the room was full of Liu Jin's eyes and ears. Liu Jin was afraid that he wanted to ask himself, Zhang Yanling told him Something happened.
But it’s not a big problem. Just make up a few lies to deal with it.
Yes, I told Liu Jin that Zhang Yanling would do something strange this time and asked Liu Jin to pay more attention to him.