(The previous chapter has been slightly revised and supplemented)
"Mu Sheng, you have already ruled Yunnan for a long time and are also in charge of the capital of Guizhou. Even if you have made great contributions, what can you do?" Seeing that Mu Sheng was hesitating, Zhu Zhen could only say louder.
Zhu Ming's words woke Mu Sheng up. "Yes, I have now conquered Yunnan. No matter how great my achievements are, it is just the conquering of Yunnan. What good will it do to me? I have been promoted to the Fifth Army of the imperial court." Want to be the governor of the Dudu Mansion? It would be better to be a general guarding the city in Yunnan and be more comfortable.'
'At this time, if you agree to hand over the military power to Zhu Zanyi, you can befriend him. Zhu Zanyi will become the king of Annan in the future, and it will be beneficial to me to be friendly with him.'
After Mu Sheng settled the account, he immediately said to Zhu Zanyi: "King Jingjiang and King Min are right. It will be useless if I make meritorious deeds. And if your highness can make military exploits, you can overwhelm the people of Annan and the gentry, and then go to war." I leave the matter of fighting to His Highness!"
"Ah, this..." Zhu Zanyi was a little surprised for a moment. He didn't expect that Mu Sheng would actually hand over the military power to him. He had fought in wars before, but these days, there are only a few vassal kings who have never fought in a war. Most of them They have all fought against the barbarians nearby, and Zhu Chanyi is no exception. But apart from that, he has no other fighting experience, and no one can trust him.
But after all, he was the vassal king who had been in Guangxi for a long time. He was stunned for a moment and said: "In that case, I won't shirk it hypocritically. I will lead the troops to fight in the next few days."
"This matter still needs to be reported to Mr. Zhang. Although Mr. Zhang will not refute the matter, he is the commander-in-chief of the Annan Expeditionary Army, so it is better to report it." Zhu Cheng said.
Zhu Zanyi nodded, and ordered his servants to bring paper and pen to write down the document, and asked Mu Sheng to sign it, and then sent someone to deliver the document to Zhang Wen immediately.
After that, Zhu Ming said again: "Zanyi, you still need to appoint a vanguard. There are always dozens or even hundreds of generals in an army, but the choice of vanguard is the most important among them. A suitable vanguard can equal the number of other generals." Ten.”
"How about Xu Jingchang?" Zhu Zanyi thought for a while and said.
"I'm afraid Jingchang won't make it." Mu Sheng said playfully: "It stands to reason that his injury should have been healed. But for some reason, he didn't do it well and still asked the military doctor to go to the county government office every day to treat his injury and prescribe medicine. "
"How come it's not healed yet?" Zhu Zanyi was a little confused.
"Could it be...? If that's the case, it's better not to disturb him and let him rest in peace in the city to recuperate." Zhu Xi thought of something and said.
Zhu Chanyi didn't understand what they were talking about, but he didn't delve into the issue and said, "Since Xu Jingchang's injury has not healed yet, how about sending Nie Yi as the vanguard? He is also very brave."
"Let's send Guo Ming as the vanguard." Zhu Ming said: "Guo Ming is the commander of Jinwu's avant-garde, and he has some abilities. Now that most of Jinwu's avant-garde has arrived in Shenglong City, let him be the vanguard."
"However, Guo Ming, according to His Majesty, a person who does not shout, 'Brothers, come with me' on the battlefield is not considered a brave person." Zhu Zanyi said.
"Zanyi, your vision is a bit narrow," Zhu Zhen said: "Not every good vanguard is a desperate man. Since Guo Ming can be the commander of the Zhiwei, at least one of the vanguards can do the job."
"In that case, let's take Guo Ming as the vanguard." Zhu Zanyi agreed without thinking too much.
They discussed other things, and after dinner together they discussed for a while, until everyone was sleepy, and then they dispersed.
…
…
"What? King Jingjiang is going to lead an army?" Lan Zhen listened to Zhang Wen's words with some surprise.
"This is what is written in the document." Zhang Wen said: "Lan Zhen, you don't have to be surprised. Everyone can guess that His Majesty intends to designate King Jingjiang as the king of Annan. In this case, it is normal for him to lead troops."
The place where Lan Zhen and Zhang Wen are now is Duobang City. Zhang Wen led his troops here on the third day after capturing Duobang City. By this time, the soldiers' looting had ended and the fire in the city had been put out.
, Zhang Fu worked hard to maintain it, and finally when Zhang Wen arrived at Duobang City, order had been restored in the city, as if the Ming army had never plundered Duobang City before. However, there was a long queue in front of the merchants accompanying the army.
From the team, the many things the soldiers carried, and their happy looks, it can be seen that they must have gained a lot.
Although Duobang City has been captured, there are still many things that need to be dealt with in the follow-up. Whether it is the resettlement of more than 300,000 troops across the river, clearing a channel on the Furian River, or logistical supplies, it is not that easy to arrange.
But relatively speaking, because a batch of grain was captured in Duobang City, the pressure on logistical supplies was greatly reduced, and it was easier to deal with. In addition, Zhang Wen stayed here to avoid suspicion, and is still in Duobang City to this day.
.
Lan Zhen had already figured this out and said, "This is indeed what we should do. It's just that King Jingjiang has never commanded tens of thousands of troops before, so it would be better to send someone to assist him."
"Who should be sent to assist him? If a deputy general or a general is sent there, after the battle is won, no one will believe that it is King Jingjiang's credit; but if it is a commander, it may not be better than the commanders under him now." Zhang Wen said.
Lan Zhen frowned. Although Zhu Zanyi's victory and defeat had no impact on him, they were all soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and it was hard to let them sacrifice in vain. Lan Zhen, whose personal interests were highly consistent with those of the army, was very ideologically aware.
Worried.
Lan Zhen thought about it a few times, but none of them were suitable; either his identity was inappropriate or his talent was not enough. He was about to put the matter down when he suddenly thought of someone and said to Zhang Wen: "Master Zhang, I suddenly thought of someone whose identity is not suitable."
Gao is suitable for serving under King Jingjiang, and he is resourceful and capable of serving as a staff officer."
"There are still such people in the Annan Expeditionary Army? Which guard station? Thousands of households or hundreds of households? They can't be barbarians, right?" Zhang Wen asked.
Lan Zhen whispered a few words in Zhang Wen's ear, and Zhang Wen suddenly said: "It turns out that he is the man who made great achievements in attacking Duobang City before. It is indeed suitable, so he was sent to King Jingjiang as a staff officer."
Zhang Wen immediately ordered a guard to come in from outside the house and ordered him to leave.
"In the past few months that King Jingjiang has been with me, I have seen that His Highness still has some fighting skills and is not a scholar. However, I am worried that His Highness is impatient and impulsive at a young age. He may fall into the temptation of the Annan people.
The enemy's plan. The person just now couldn't be persuaded to do something like this, so he had to find a person with a suitable identity to persuade him." Zhang Wen said with some worry.
Lan Zhen was convinced. King Jingjiang was three years younger than King Min, and it was his first time commanding an army, so he was probably very eager. His losing a few battles would not have much impact on the overall situation, but it would affect whether the Annan people were intimidated by him.
The stakes are high, so it's best not to lose the battle.
But who should he send to persuade him? King Min and others with sufficient status could not follow him due to previous reasons. As for those with insufficient status, Zhu Zhanyi would not listen to him even if he got angry. Lan Zhen and Zhang Wen could not think of a suitable candidate for a while.
The two of them were thinking about it when suddenly Chang Jizong, who had been standing behind Lan Zhen silently, said: "Master Zhang, General Lan, I do have a suitable candidate."
After all, Chang Jizong's status is low. Although he has been able to frequently go in and out of Zhang Wen and Lan Zhen's tents recently because of his meritorious service, when Zhang Wen is talking to the lieutenants, he usually won't interrupt unless they are asking everyone to brainstorm and speak freely; but what I saw just now
When they were scratching their heads about this candidate, they couldn't help but say something.
"Oh, do you have someone to choose? Who?" Zhang Wen asked nonchalantly.
"I came to Duobang City yesterday, and the envoy sent by His Majesty, Tongshiren, congratulated Wenchang." Zhang Fu said.
"He Wenchang?" Zhang Wen's eyes suddenly lit up: "What a good candidate! As his majesty's assistant, King Jingjiang has to worry about your majesty even if he doesn't care about him personally."
When Yunxi was inspecting Leizhou Prefecture, he learned that their attack on Duobang City was not going well, so he sent He Wenchang to convey the order to them. The main purpose was to tell them not to be afraid. As long as Duobang City was captured, any means could be used.
But when He Wenchang came to Baihe, Duobang City had been captured, and even Shenglong City had been occupied, and his edict was of no use. Although Zhang Wen respectfully accepted the edict, He Wenchang had nothing to do and was
Zhang Wen arranged to take a look near Duobang City, and then go to Shenglong City tomorrow to take a look, and returned with Zhang Wen's memorial detailing the process of conquering these two cities and pleading for merit for the meritorious ministers.
Therefore, Zhang Wen's eyes lit up and he said: "But after all, he is a person sent by His Majesty, and it is difficult for me to handle him. Besides, I have decided to let him return with a memorial in a few days."
"Master Marquis, your Majesty's decree does not stipulate when He Wenchang will return to Leizhou Mansion, but allows him to stay in Annan for a while longer. It should be that he wants him to see the real situation with his own eyes and report back. Sending him to King Jingjiang is also
It doesn’t count as violating His Majesty’s will.”
"Besides, I think he is very keen on fighting on the battlefield, so he must agree, and he will help cover it up."
Chang Jizong also had some doubts after hearing Zhang Wen's words, but Lan Zhen did not. As a Mesozoic general that Yunxi had always relied on, he felt that the emperor did not have the caution of older generals like Zhang Wen and young generals like Chang Jizong.
Said out loud.
Seeing that Zhang Wen was still hesitant, he rolled his eyes and said, "Why don't the Marquis discuss it with His Highness King Min and let He Wenchang stay in the name of His Highness King Min. As for reinstatement, the Marquis can also let other people go back to reinstate themselves." In this way.
Zhang Wen's personal responsibility is gone.
Zhang Wen immediately accepted this suggestion. Since he does not have to take responsibility, why not do it?
After finishing the matter, he said to Lan Zhen and others: "No matter who the candidates are, they have been selected for King Jingjiang. What happens next depends on God's will. I hope God's will is on the side of the Ming Dynasty."
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, God's will will definitely be on Ming's side."