Fang Kongzheng was quite surprised when he heard Shen Shuren say that he was sure to invite Liu Guoneng.
In Fang Kongzhen's impression, it was true that Liu Guoneng had an old grudge with Zhang Xianzhong, but after he became an official and soldier, he was not very reused. He was also afraid of being transferred around and used as a chess piece, so he had always been more arbitrary in combat.
In other words, Liu Guoneng was willing to do his part in killing thieves, but he did not listen to specific tactical instructions and preferred to kill thieves in his own way.
It was Xiong Wencan who recruited him at the beginning. When Xiong Wencan was alive, Liu Guoneng could barely be mobilized. Later, Xiong Wencan was executed by the emperor for questioning, and Liu Guoneng became more sensitive and often worried and overreacted.
Fang Kongzheng then considered his persuasion: "Xiannephew, how sure are you that you and Liu Guoneng have an old relationship and can persuade him to help in the war? You can't believe such a traitorous general.
As for what you reminded Mr. Yang Ge, I can convey it to you tactfully. After all, you are a man of few words and don’t understand the defense of Jiangling and Jingmen. If you say it, Mr. Yang Ge may not take it seriously - you don’t think Is this me just greedy for credit?"
Chen Shuren didn't even think about it: "Just a few reminders, what kind of credit can I say? Everything is focused on the overall situation. As for how to persuade Liu Guoneng to help in the war, it is difficult to describe... I will write a letter now, and I will ask Futai to review it later. yes. "
Fang Kongzhen didn't take any advantage of Shangguan, and immediately asked Shen Shuren to go to the study next door, where he had his own pen, ink, paper and inkstone to serve him. Time was tight, so Fang Kongzhen took care of his junior and personally picked up the ink stick and polished it a few more times.
Shen Shuren picked up his pen and started writing, while Fang Kongzhen watched from the side.
The content of the letter is nothing more than a brief talk about the first sixty second-class Jinshis called by Chongzhen after last year's palace examination. Shen Shuren mentioned that he suggested to Chongzhen at that time "to reward and reuse other people who were recruited by Xiong Wencan at the beginning, and Zhang Xianzhong could be promoted after his return." A surrendered general who insists on not being coerced by Zhang Xianzhong."
He also mentioned that he hoped to help Xiong Wencan reduce his sentence, but the emperor did not listen in the end and only helped Xiong Wencan erase part of the charges.
Liu Guoneng may not believe some of the words written directly, but Shen Shuren, as the person involved, must know many inside details. He can also match the timeline. For example, after the imperial examination, he asked what March of that year it was when the emperor issued an edict to execute Xiong Wencan. , when will Liu Guoneng be rewarded? There are a lot of details inside, and Liu Guoneng can’t help but believe it.
At the end of the day, Shen Shuren did not forget to add, "In order to save your Majesty's face, Your Majesty openly demoted me to the last place in the second class, but after the limelight passed, he still used my suggestions. Please read this letter." Then it will be burned."
Shen Shuren dared to add these words because he knew that Liu Guoneng was a loyal man. In history, he finally fought to the death with Li Zicheng and refused to surrender. After the defeat, his entire family, including his eleven-year-old son, was killed by Li Zicheng.
If Liu Guoneng is not loyal enough, Shen Shuren is afraid that he will take advantage of him - although this kind of accusation is not very serious, even if it reaches Chongzhen's ears, as long as it is not openly publicized to the public, it will not cause the emperor to lose face in public, and Chongzhen will not People will be punished indiscriminately.
Although Chongzhen punished ministers indiscriminately, he had a bottom line. He wanted public face and was not afraid of others slandering him privately. Because in the last few years of the Ming Dynasty, there were too many people who slandered the emperor privately, and it was impossible to control them. Don't worry about public slander, just catch the big ones and let go the small ones, that's already pretty good.
When writing the letter, thinking about the fate of Liu Guoneng's family in history, Shen Shuren added another story, saying that two years ago, Mr. Yang Ge was worried that other generals recruited by Xiong Wencan were unstable and wanted their heirs to go to Nanjing. Studying in the Imperial College and being held hostage.
But at that time, considering that Liu Guoneng's son was only nine years old and not old enough to be imprisoned, he gave up and later detained Zheng Chenggong - now, Shen Shuren has revised these and included them.
He only said how loyal he was and how close he was to Wu Meicun, the head of the Nanjing Imperial Academy. In the past few years, he had protected Zheng Chenggong from suffering in Nanjing, so that Mr. Yang Ge and Zheng Zhilong could cooperate harmoniously and sincerely. Finally, he even sent a Buddha to the west for Zheng Chenggong. He hired a small civilian official from Huguang Yanfa Road to help him seize the money.
Therefore, as long as Liu Guoneng is willing, and his son is now eleven years old after two years, Shen Shuren can intervene and let Wumeicun do a favor and treat Liu Guoneng's son as a candidate Yinjian student.
When he reaches the age after studying for two years, he will become a formal supervisor. In the future, he will definitely help Liu Guoneng's son run a decent civil service, just like he was loyal to Zheng Chenggong.
This suggestion was absolutely destructive to Liu Guoneng, because Shen Shuren knew that Liu Guoneng was a man who was very vain in history and wanted to get closer to the system and gain a decent status.
Otherwise, before he died for his country, he would not have insulted Li Zicheng: "I was a thief with Ruo in the beginning, but now I am a royal minister, why should I surrender to the thief!"
It can be seen that Liu Guoneng himself looked down upon his experience as a thief and wanted to clean it up. Unfortunately, in the years after his surrender, no civil servants in the Ming Dynasty were willing to look at him seriously.
Shen Shuren was very careful and emphasized that his son should be treated as a "yin supervisor". Although this "yin" type of supervisor is not the best paid, his father must be a noble or a high-ranking civil servant before his wife can be granted the title of "Yin". Jiansheng, this is tantamount to treating Liu Guoneng "with the same treatment as a noble or a senior civil servant", and the face has been given to him to the fullest.
At the end of the letter, Shen Shuren also kindly reminded: He asked Liu Guoneng to send his son to prison this time, not for hostage, but because he heard that Li Zicheng was also wreaking havoc in Henan again and might be corrupted at any time. Liu Guoneng was guarding Xinyang, and the army was in chaos. I take my son with me in case there is any transfer, which would be inconvenient. If I go to Nanjing, I will have no worries.
Fang Kongzheng watched Shen Shuren finish the letter completely, and he was very impressed by Shen Shuren's persuasive eloquence. At the same time, he also knew a lot of inside stories, and actually felt a bit of awe.
After all, when Chongzhen summoned the new imperial examination scholars last year, Fang Kongzheng did not know many details. Although his son Fang Yizhi was present, he did not tell all the details to his family.
"It is truly a formidable young man. We, the younger generation of officials in the Ming Dynasty, still have such iron-shouldered moral officials who do not care about personal honor and disgrace, but only seek to benefit the country. It is really a blessing for the Ming Dynasty.
If I were twenty or thirty years younger, I might not have dared to make such outspoken remonstrances at the cost of offending the emperor and deposing him as the last person in the second class. Now I know why Zhi'er's letter contains such high praise for you."
Fang Kongzheng sighed a few words from the bottom of his heart.
Shen Shuren discussed the content of the letter with him for a while, and after checking for omissions and filling in the gaps, he was sure that he was quite confident, and then he sealed the letter with a fused seal:
"Tomorrow I will send someone from Laofutai to escort Xiaguan's confidants to Ye County to ask for help with this letter. How about this? When the general entered the city today, he saw Jin Shenghuan, a city gate guard, and his Qianzong Wang Deren, who were still diligent. Be cautious, you should be good at martial arts, right? Just bring a hundred cavalry to escort you."
Fang Kongzheng thought for a while: "These two people really volunteered and worked hard. Let's do this - I will make an agreement with you. This time, Wang Deren will send cavalry to escort them.
After Wang Deren received Liu Guoneng's reply, if he was sure that Liu Guoneng would send troops to harass He Xinyang and surround Wei to rescue Zhao, then I would send Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren's 2,000 troops to Xiaogan to reinforce his nephew.
Calculating the time by then, Erhe's former army should also get the news that He Yilong's lair has been raided, and the morale of the army will definitely be unstable. I will help you with two thousand elite troops, which should be quite helpful in chasing the wavering enemy. If you can Quickly retreat the enemy, and then send these two thousand people back to defend Jingzhou.
However, my nephew must also promise me: once the siege of Suizhou is lifted and the enemy retreats, not only will my battalion be returned immediately, but one more battalion will be sent to reinforce me. I am already stretched thin to contain Zhang Xianzhong here. It can still be sustained over time, but it will inevitably change over time."
Chen Shuren thought for a while and realized that Fang Kongzhen's request was also appropriate. The way to use troops is to gather superior forces whenever and wherever possible to defeat the enemy one by one by taking advantage of the time difference.
At first, he did not send reinforcements because he thought that Shen Shuren would have a long-term stalemate with Erhe, and the people he sent would be loaned out for the rest of the year or even without repayment.
But if Liu Guoneng is willing to copy He Yilong's retreat, the war is expected to end in a relatively short period of time, and it won't be a big problem if he borrows it for ten days and a half. Even if Zhang Xianzhong gets the news, it will take time.
Fang Kongzhen could also set up false flags in Jiangling and other cities, reduce the number of troops and increase the number of troops, and secretly send troops at night to deceive them for a while.
Chen Shuren handed the letter to Shen Fu, and Fang Kongzheng also came to Wang Deren late at night to give instructions, telling them to take a good rest and ride out of the city to deliver the letter tomorrow morning.
At present, the road from Jiangling to Xiangyang and then to Ye County is relatively safe. The thieves have not entered the hinterland of Xiangyang or Nanyang. Although Li Zicheng in the north has escaped from Shangluo Mountain and entered the Henan area, he is not heading towards the Nanyang Basin. Go.
After explaining the matter clearly, Fang Kongzhen admired Shen Shuren very much and invited him to exchange many views on military and national affairs.
Although it was late at night and Shen Shuren would return to Xiaogan tomorrow, the opportunity was so rare that Fang Kongzhen was unwilling to let it go.
He ordered people to make tea for Shen Shuren again and prepare some midnight snacks; he also asked very practical questions that could be used immediately.
"My dear nephew, the situation is so bad now, I have one thing that has been worrying me. Do you think that if the thieves become bigger again, the court will really be unable to completely eliminate them.
Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, Li Zicheng, and He Yilong, which family should be the most important to ensure the annihilation? I have a bad feeling. Alas, if Huang Taiji comes now, even if we fight to the death and annihilate some bandits, the rest will probably be gone. Will be recruited by the remaining thieves chiefs.
If the enemy army cannot be completely wiped out, or at least the prisoners can be reorganized into the official army, and only the chiefs and guards are killed, it may help the bandits to annex themselves, and those who survive will only become stronger and stronger! Alas."
Shen Shuren rode a horse for a day and thought about strategies and wrote letters until midnight. He was completely weak. At this moment, he just drank tea, tried to catch his breath, and randomly grabbed the boring dry biscuits that were always available in the study and stuffed them into his mouth.
The snacks commonly prepared by scholars in the Ming Dynasty were relatively dry and hard, with a little sugar added at most. The advantage was that the drier they were, the longer their shelf life was. They could be kept in the study room for months without going bad, but the taste was definitely much worse than freshly made ones.
Chen Shuren choked and felt a little uncomfortable. He took several sips of tea before rubbing his chest and sighing: "I thought that among the four thieves, Zhang Xianzhong should be Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng the most dangerous. I would like to contribute to the country and destroy them as soon as possible, but In the end, I'm afraid I have no choice but to kill whoever comes to the knife's edge first."
When he answered, he didn't have the energy to think too carefully, so he simply reported the answer using historical prophets.
However, Fang Kongzheng seemed not satisfied with this answer:
"Why? Zhang Xianzhong organized the excavation of the Fengyang Emperor's Tomb back then. Although he was the most heinous and most vicious, he was targeted by the imperial court after all. Now he is hiding in the Jingshan Mountains in eastern Sichuan and western Hubei. The reinforcement of his troops should be relatively weak.
The same is true for Li Zicheng. Originally, he only had 18 generals who fled to Shangluo Mountain, but they gradually regrouped.
Luo Rucai was more cunning and capable than these two reckless men. When he was dormant and patient, his strength was relatively less damaged.
Ma Shouying is the leader of the fifth battalion of Ge Zuo. After the other forces were damaged, his troops are no longer as good as those of Luo and Li. What's more important is that this time we will fight to the death with He Jin and He Yilong, just like Er He If you can be annihilated, that's all.
If they were simply repelled or even dispersed, and the remaining troops fled to rely on Ma Shouying, then Ma Shouying's military strength would definitely grow to the top of the group of thieves - why does the wise nephew think that only Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong need to be wary of the most?"
Chen Shuren was speechless for a moment.
He was used to copying answers and never thought about this problem, because historically it was Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong who finally succeeded, and later history books did not analyze this problem.
However, in the eyes of people in the Ming Dynasty, at least the four thieves were of the same rank. Except for Zhang Xianzhong, who organized the excavation of the imperial tomb, the biggest crime was, but in terms of strength, no one felt the difference.
"He is known as Cao Cao, dedicated, brave and outstanding in the world." Who dares to underestimate Luo Rucai?
He had no choice but to stall for time and think slowly: "This is really a long story. I am very tired today. Can you let me take a break and have some midnight snacks to clear my mind?"
Fang Kongzheng also realized that he was too eager, and it was indeed a bit too much to work hard on an admiring junior, so he quickly asked Chen Shuren to help himself first, and also ordered the maid to sort out his desk and let Chen Shuren I could lean on him for a while, and I asked two maids to give Shen Shuren a squeeze on his shoulders, legs, and temples.
After Chen Shuren drank two cups of tea, he finally sorted out some ideas. It may not be accurate, but at least it can explain the cause and effect.
At this moment, there were footsteps at the door of the study, and soon some women came in. The first one, a middle-aged woman in her forties, was not polite to Fang Kongzhen:
"Sir, it's already past midnight. Why don't you rest in the middle of the night? The official business of the court can be handled tomorrow. I also read Zhi'er's family letter. Is this his visit in the same year? Why are you so anxious?"
Fang Kongzhen was interrupted and was quite angry: "What do you know about women? Shen Bingbei will return to Suizhou tomorrow. The military situation is like a fire. He came to ask for help from 400 miles in two days and one night! It's rare for him to understand the situation on the front line. , he is also very knowledgeable, I will ask him for some military insights, you can rest first."
His wife was robbed of his wife. Hearing that the military situation was booming, he didn't dare to make a mistake, but he couldn't help but step forward and take a closer look at the Jinshi of the same year mentioned in his son's family letter. When he saw Shen Shuren's appearance, he looked haggard, and the light was dim. I can't even see clearly what he looks like.
However, Shen Shuren was still observant of etiquette. When he saw an elder from Fang's family coming in, he also stood up and bowed. As soon as he stood up, he immediately felt oppressive.
"So tall? He's probably six feet tall, right? He's quite a majestic man." The female members of the Fang family subconsciously took two steps back in fear.
There was a woman behind Mrs. Fang. She seemed to think of something after stepping back. She quickly put down the tea tray in her hand and saluted Kong Zheng:
"Then father can concentrate on military affairs while I help my mother go back and have a rest first. This is a late-night stew made by the children, with some velvet antlers and candied dates added. Please take care of yourself when you stay up late and don't eat those dry biscuits."
Fang Kongzheng took a bowl and pushed it directly in front of Shen Shuren: "My dear nephew, you eat first. You have to use your brain. I'm just listening. It doesn't matter."
"Let's do it together." Shen Shuren said politely, since there was more than one bowl, it didn't matter if everyone could eat it. After taking a few mouthfuls of the soup containing deer antler, he soon felt refreshed, and his thinking was not that slow anymore, so he actually gave it to him I came up with a way to say it.