Ma Shiying, a native of Guiyang, Guizhou, became a Jinshi before Wanli Jiwei (1619) of the Ming Dynasty.
Originally, his career in the officialdom was relatively smooth, and he was promoted along the way. Until the fifth year of Chongzhen, he was promoted to the position of censor of Youqiandu and governor of Xuanfu.
In less than a month, he was impeached by the guarding eunuchs, saying that he had used public funds to bribe court officials, and then he was dismissed from office and exiled.
While in Nanjing, Ma Shiying met Ruan Dacheng and became close friends.
And this Ruan Dacheng is also a person with very rich experiences.
He was a Jinshi in the 44th year of Wanli (1616), and during the Tianqi period, he was one of the most famous generals in the Donglin Party. As a result, he became a victim of the internal fighting in the Donglin Party and lost his official position.
After Wei Zhongxian emerged, he took a fancy to his original identity as a member of the Donglin Party and appointed him. However, Ruan Dacheng did not serve as an official for long. The pressure from Donglin caused him to abandon his official position and flee back to his hometown less than a month after taking office.
It was also for this reason that Ruan Dacheng broke with Dong Lin.
After Wei Zhongxian gained power, he was summoned to the capital as Taichang Shaoqing.
However, Ruan Dacheng knew that he was from Donglin and had become an anti-Donglin model. It was probably difficult to please both sides, so he acted very carefully. After a while, he returned to his hometown again and planned to wait and see the situation. However, he had already been marked
Branded as an eunuch.
After Emperor Chongzhen came to power, Wei Zhongxian fell, Dong Lin came to power, and Ruan Dacheng was liquidated and isolated from officialdom.
Of course, Ruan Dacheng was not willing to give in. He always wanted to be an official again, and even paid to help Zhang Pu, the leader of the Fushe, to operate and revive Zhou Yanru. As a result, Zhou Yanru still refused to let him become an official because of his experience, but he agreed with Ruan Dacheng.
Recommend someone to be an official.
So, just like that, Ma Shiying, who met Ruan Dacheng and became a good friend during this period, was recommended and became an official again.
This incident surprised Ma Shiying, so she was very grateful to Ruan Dacheng.
Later, after Zhang Pu was poisoned and died, no one dared to help with his funeral, for fear of Wu Changshi's revenge; but Ma Shiying, even though they were separated from Zhang Pu by Ruan Dacheng's level, still took action to take care of Zhang Pu's funeral.
The reason is that his ability to become an official again can be regarded as an indirect effect of Zhang Pu.
If the original historical development is followed, after Ma Shiying became the chief minister of the Southern Ming Dynasty, he overcame all opinions and reinstated Ruan Dacheng as an official because he remembered Ruan Dacheng's kindness.
It can also be seen from this that Ma Shiying attaches great importance to him being able to become an official again.
During the period when he took over as Governor of Fengyang, Ma Shiying was really on tenterhooks.
Fengyang is no different from other places. There are imperial mausoleums here, so the defense is more difficult than other places, and if there is a mistake, the consequences will be heavier than other places.
Therefore, although the position of Governor Fengyang seems to be high and powerful, in fact, not many people want to be this official.
The full name of the Governor of Fengyang is the Governor of Fengyang who also controls Henan and Huguang military affairs. After the imperial mausoleum was burned by Zhang Xianzhong, Emperor Chongzhen established a temporary position in the 14th year. It lasted just over two years.
,, Zhu Dadian, Gao Douguang, and Zhan Zhaoheng all took this position not long after they were dismissed from their posts due to bandits attacking the city and losing territory, and were even arrested and imprisoned. Ma Shiying was already the fourth governor.
Zhang Xianzhong and the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo were in Huguang and making trouble in southern Zhili, and they were still doing so with great force, which made Ma Shiying very worried.
As a result, he did not expect that this was not the case, but Emperor Chongzhen issued a decree and transferred Huang Degong back to the capital.
During that period of time, Ma Shiying really couldn't sleep at night and was in fear all day long.
Is he capable?
Of course there is. Speaking of which, Ma Shiying's family is actually a family of generals and has always inherited military positions. Starting from his father's generation, he slowly studied for the imperial examination and transferred to the civil service.
Therefore, Ma Shiying is no stranger to leading troops in battles, but the key is that at this time, the bandits have become powerful, and he has to defend the Fengyang Imperial Tomb, so he cannot let go at all.
Thanks to the general Liu Liangzuo under his command, he helped him hold off the surrounding Fifth Battalion of Gezuo. Zhang Xianzhong was busy claiming kingship and hegemony in Wuchang, so he did not lose any city or territory.
Later, when Li Zicheng went south, he was frightened again.
You know, at that time, the coalition forces of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai were much stronger than Zhang Xianzhong and the Fifth Battalion of Ge Zuo.
Just when Ma Shiying was worried, Jizhou was victorious, and Wu Sangui led Guan Ning's cavalry south, which gave him some comfort.
Afterwards, Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai's coalition forces marched westward and left the area around Fengyang, allowing him to breathe again.
Ma Shiying breathed a sigh of relief when the fifth battalion of Gezuo broke up and left.
By this time, he began to ponder the changes in the situation, and began to pay more attention to the movements in the court.
Dongchang raided the properties of the top ten salt merchants in Yangzhou, established Jiangnan Procurement Office, Sun Chuanting took charge of Kaifeng, etc. He even heard about some unbelievable things in the capital, and he paid serious attention to them.
Being in Fengyang, Ma Shiying was basically aware of the changes in the capital.
But this time, the imperial army marched southward, which finally gave him reassurance.
Fengyang, no worries from now on!
With so many reinforcements from the imperial army, we finally no longer have to just defend, but can also look forward to attacking.
These are all elite soldiers and strong generals. If I lead the troops to recover the lost territory occupied by the thieves, with this merit, I don't expect to be awarded a title, but at least I can be transferred to the capital, right?
Ma Shiying thought so, and naturally he was very happy about the arrival of various generals.
From the moment he received the news, he was already planning the next strategic layout.
Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly saw a group of generals outside the city approaching the city gate.
If it was just this, it might not matter. The most important thing was that the general at the head was actually wearing a bullfight uniform, which was not something ordinary generals could wear.
"Commander of the Jinyi Guards?" Ma Shiying was a little unsure and asked immediately.
Wu Sangui, who was standing next to him, heard this and quickly replied: "There are many Jin Yiwei captains in both the Jing camp and the Yongwei camp. The same should be true in the army after reorganization. It is now common to see Jin Yiwei in the army.
"
After hearing this, Ma Shiying still frowned slightly and smelled an unusual smell.
Even if, as Wu Sangui said, it is not uncommon to have Jinyi Guards supervisors in the army, it is definitely unusual to have the commander of the Jinyi Guards also come with him.
Although he was the governor of Fengyang, he did not show any airs when the commander of the Jinyi Guards came over. He quickly led Wu Sangui and Liu Liangzuo down the city to greet them.
The two sides met at the gate of the city. Ma Shiying had no airs at all and immediately said with a smile: "Welcome everyone!"
As he spoke, he looked at the general in bullfighting uniform.
Sure enough, I heard this man say with a smile: "Li Ruolian, commander of the Jinyi Guards, has met the Governor!"
After he spoke, others, including Huang Degong, followed to pay tribute to Ma Shiying.
Among the military positions of the Ming Dynasty, it can even be said that among the civil and military officials, no matter how high the official position is, they would not dare to be trusted in front of the commander of the Jinyi Guards.
When Ma Shiying heard that this was indeed the commander of the Jinyi Guards, he was shocked and quickly said politely: "You have worked so hard, I have already hosted a banquet for you to cleanse yourself from the dust!"
This kind of thing, if it were another civil servant, would probably be impossible, but Ma Shiying could do it. This is related to the fact that he comes from a family of generals, and also because he cherishes his official position very much.
When these generals heard that the Governor actually helped them, they all felt very fond of Ma Shiying!
His noble character and noble character are engraved in his bones. This is also the Governor-General, who is definitely very rare!
So, a group of generals were polite and followed Ma Shiying into the city.
Along the way, Ma Shiying praised the elite troops of each army, and they would definitely be able to make great achievements, and be granted the title of marquis and general! And the generals of the various armies also flattered Ma Shiying's power to shock Fengyang, so that the bandits would not dare to invade.
For a moment, the atmosphere was very harmonious.
Among them, Wu Sangui very much welcomed the arrival of these elite troops, because like Ma Shiying, he was not satisfied with just guarding Fengyang, but also wanted to make achievements and earn back the lost total soldiers.
But another general, Liu Liangzuo, was a little uneasy. To be honest, he was actually unwilling to have so many elite troops arrive in Fengyang.
In the past, after Huang Degong was transferred, he was the only army left. The Governor had to rely on him. It can almost be said that the Governor would basically not refute any of his requests and would try to satisfy them as much as possible.
.
But after Wu Sangui came, this situation has changed.
Although Wu Sangui only had 3,000 cavalry under his command, and his military rank was not as high as his own, he felt threatened. Ma Shiying also valued Wu Sangui and would not agree to any of his requests.
But now, with so many elite troops coming, his role has been further reduced.
Even though he now has 100,000 troops, at least in name, and only 30,000 troops came from him, he also knows that he is likely to be marginalized.
If that's all, that's fine. However, he is also worried that the court will attack his army, or even attack him personally.
Not long ago, the imperial newspaper published news that He Renlong and other generals were punished after Zuo Liangyu. Liu Liangzuo was worried that he would also be punished by the imperial court.
Just when he was worrying about gains and losses, he finally arrived at the Governor's Mansion, and was about to have a drink and talk. Suddenly, Li Ruolian, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, gave up first and said to Ma Shiying: "My lord Governor, I want to borrow a place. I have your Majesty's secret order!"
Ma Shiying was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to his senses and immediately led Li Ruolian into the inner hall.
The other generals were stunned when they saw it, and then Huang Degong and others didn't care. However, Liu Liangzuo was worried. For a moment, he felt a little uneasy. He didn't know if the emperor's secret decree was to punish him.