Chen Shuren wanted to keep a low profile, but when he saw Zuo Liangyu was forced to arrive in Nanyang, he didn't bother to get to know him. He just asked his personal guards to bypass the left and take the main road south.
However, he did not expect that he would stimulate Zuo Liangyu so much. Zuo's army's vanguard scouts saw the "Shen" flag appearing in front of them. Even though they were bypassing the camp, they still sent people out to intercept and question:
"Stop! Don't approach the important military camp! Where are you from?"
Facing Zuo Liangyu's rudeness, the generals around Shen Shuren were of course furious. Zuo Zixiong, who relied on his strong martial arts skills, was the first to jump out and shouted:
"Presumptuous! This is in front of Huguang Soldiers Shen Daotai! How dare you, General Zuo, be rude? Mr. Yang Ge's camp is close to the city, so you are not afraid of being punished by Mr. Ge!"
Zuo Zixiong brought Yang Sichang out. After all, the sick tiger still had the power, and Zuo Liangyu's men did not dare to be too rude. After all, Zuo Liangyu was convinced and moved to Nanyang, giving up the territory he had been operating in Hanyang, Wuchang for almost two years. He only took his direct troops to start anew.
If you can't bear this, you should have raised the flag in Wuchang and made it clear. Why delay it until now?
The two sides were about to clash, but fortunately there were senior military officers controlling the situation. Zuo Zixiong personally stood in front of Shen Shuren, and there were guards beside him who took out heavy iron shields to cover all sides.
While they were talking, a horn sounded from Zuo Liangyu's army. A majestic general in his forties, with a tall appearance and a well-groomed moustache, stepped out from the crowd, and the guards on both sides were like waves. Find a way out.
Seeing this posture, Shen Shuren knew that it was Zuo Liangyu himself who had appeared.
This was the first time he saw Zuo Liangyu in person, and he was a little surprised by his appearance.
He originally thought that a warlord like Zuo Liangyu would have to groom his beard like Zhang Fei's. If it was long enough, he would definitely want to groom it like Guan Yu's.
But Zuo Liangyu shaved his cheeks very clean, leaving only a small patch on his chin, except for the delicate mustache on his lips, which looked somewhere between Adolf and Stalin.
Chen Shuren is good at observing people. From the way Zuo Liangyu grooms his beard, he can tell that this person is probably on the same level as Hong Chengchou in terms of "cherishing feathers" -
Anyone who cherishes things will often struggle with their righteous status. This is why Zuo Liangyu cannot be a thief directly and openly, and always wants to have a status of serving the court.
It’s no wonder that in history, he could raise the banner of the Qing Dynasty, but did not have the courage to directly raise the banner of rebellion.
Of course, cherishing feathers is not a bad thing. Shenshu people also cherish feathers and like to plan for the long term. It's just that if the opponent also cherishes feathers, there is less need to worry about the other party's reckless aggression.
Chen Shuren just wanted to show some respect, reined up his horse and walked out from the crowd, holding a folding fan and cupping his hands:
"It seems that Mr. Zuo is in front of you. I have admired you for a long time, and now I can see you. I heard that Mr. Yang Ge will use you again in the future. I wish Mr. Zuo will continue his efforts, take down the head of the intruder as soon as possible, and make his mark forever. It’s a great achievement.”
Just now Zuo Zixiong called Zuo Liangyu "Zong Bing Zuo", and Shen Shuren used the honorific title "Zong Zong Zun", which was considered a favor.
However, everyone in the Shen Jiajun obviously has a very good sense of scale and respects the imperial court's orders. They always emphasize that Zuo Liangyu has been deprived of the title of "General Pingthief" and is now just a general soldier. It is nothing more than a town with an extremely large number of troops. ’s general soldier.
Zuo Liangyu's cheek twitched, but it was not an attack. He could not help but use his fingers to smooth out his carefully groomed mustache.
What Chen Shuren said was official. In this Nanyang territory, Yang Sichang's territory, he had not yet established a firm foothold, so he could not quarrel with him casually.
Fortunately, Zuo Liangyu also has many loyal lackeys around him. At this time, he needs his subordinates to be rude, and no matter how easy it is for him to come forward and smooth things over.
I saw a powerful general coming out of the crowd, pointing at Shen Shuren and insulting him: "Shen, don't be hypocritical! Who doesn't know that it was you who instigated my general to move the town! Don't think that you are a great person because you are a civil servant! You are nothing but He's a follower!
My general is close to Mr. Hou and Shangshu Hou, and is close to Donglin Zhengdao. This is a repayment of gratitude. You framed the general for personal grudges, and sooner or later you will not end well!"
"Be loyal, don't be impudent! Go back and get twenty army sticks!" After Zuo Liangyu and other subordinates finished scolding him, he also trimmed his beard, then reprimanded a few words indifferently, and then turned to Chen Shuren:
"Shen Daotai, my men are all rough men. You won't quarrel with them. The imperial court has its own fair judgment on the merits and demerits of failure to rescue. I understand your congratulations."
It turned out that the general next to him who was responsible for scolding and beating people with military sticks was named Hao Xiaozhong - this guy was not famous in history. After Zuo Liangyu's death, he followed Zuo Menggeng and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
The only bright spot is that Hao Xiaozhong was not very loyal when he was working for the Ming Dynasty, but he was very loyal after surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. Later, when he fought with the Nanming armed forces in Huguang and Sichuan areas, he was defeated and captured by Sun Kewang. He would rather die than surrender and be executed. He can be said to be a loyal man. A hardcore traitor.
Later, in the seventh year of Yongzheng reign in the Qing Dynasty, Hao Xiaozhong and Kong Youde were included in the "Zhaozhong Temple" for sacrifice. It was really ironic (both of them died fighting for the Qing Dynasty after surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. One was killed by Sun Kewang, and the other was killed by Li Dingguo. killed).
Chen Shuren didn't know much about the deeds of these little people. When he read "History of the Ming Dynasty" in his previous life, he just thought that the deeds of this guy were too weird, so he couldn't help but pay a little attention to them.
Looking back now, I am amazed: Today is really an eye-opener, seeing such a hard-core traitor.
It's a pity that the other party's misdeeds haven't happened yet, so he can't find an excuse to kill him directly. He can only talk to his master.
Shen Shu responded with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Zuo, how can I know the same thing as this kind of thing? If you can live to this day, I believe that all of your subordinates will not be like this. Otherwise, I believe you would have died long ago." It’s in the hands of Zhang Xianzhong.”
Hao Xiaozhong was so angry at Shen Shuren's words that he ignored Zuo Liangyu's obstruction. When his head got hot, he would step forward to show off to Chen Shuren - the worst he could do was to be punished! Anyway, he just said that Shen Shuren was the one who insulted him. Being impulsive has nothing to do with your own general!
As long as Zuo Liangyu did not instruct others to step forward and use force, Zuo Liangyu would not be able to be blamed if something happened. At best, he was lax in running the army.
Zuo Liangyu seemed to hesitate for a moment. After such a delay, Hao Xiaozhong had already rushed in front of Chen Shuren. Unfortunately, the next second, he seemed to have hit a wall and was hit by the handle of a long knife. Fly directly.
Zuo Zixiong's long sword turned like flying, just like Liu Qing during the Saarhu War, and directly knocked the rude Hao Xiaozhong off his horse.
Zuo Liangyu narrowed his eyes, and the other generals around him couldn't help but lean back a little. He didn't expect that Chen Shuren would have such a powerful general beside him.
However, Shen Shuren's expression did not change at all, he just looked at all this coldly, without the panic that other civil servants had when something unexpected happened suddenly, like "a scholar encounters a soldier, and it's hard to explain why."
The soldiers on both sides couldn't help but take another high look at Shen Shuren's calmness.
Zuo Liangyu had no choice but to suffer this secret loss. After all, if he had personally ordered the left and right to take action, the nature of the matter would have changed.
He twitched a few times on his nasolabial folds, and asked his left and right officers to immediately bring military sticks. He pushed Hao Xiaozhong to the ground in public, his head bruised and bleeding, and gave him forty military sticks in public to punish him for being rude to Shen Daotai.
After forty sticks were beaten, Hao Xuanzhong's chrysanthemum was covered with blood and flesh. Zuo Liangyu said with a smile: "Shen Daotai, the last general is not strict in running the army. My subordinates are impulsive and just want to argue with you. I I've been punished, so let's forget about it."
Shen Shuren also knew not to push the situation too hard, so he could save some face, get an advantage, and then give it up as soon as it was good.
He said very measuredly: "Since Mr. Zuo has spoken, I still have to give you this face. To be honest, I don't want to be your enemy. It was Hou Xun and Hou Fangyu who offended me at the beginning. They want to I will naturally stop you from doing anything.
Mr. Zuo, you are not a member of the officialdom. It has nothing to do with you whether you are a Donglin or a Donglin. I would like to advise you, as a military general, don’t try to curry favor with the civil servants and factions of the DPRK and China. I heard that your Majesty recently made friends with civil and military officials. The more taboo some things become, the more they will harm Hou Shangshu.
Li Xiangjun's matter is that you didn't reinforce Huangzhou first. I drank too much and was angry and spilled the beans. Didn't I embarrass you? I bid farewell to Mr. Ge and will go to Wuchang to take over. I hope to stay in Wuchang. Civil and military officials will not hinder me because of Zuo Zongzhen's relationship. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to handle official business."
Veins popped up on Zuo Liangyu's forehead. For a moment, it seemed as if the generals on his left and right were looking at him from behind, silently saying that "the concubine Hou Fangyu wanted to buy for Zuo Liangyu was cut off by Shen Daotai and fell asleep."
However, Shen Shuren used a coherent and explaining tone, and the timing was just right. If Zuo Liangyu had an attack, he would definitely be slapped with a more serious crime.
Moreover, while Shen Shuren was humiliating him, he also secretly threatened him. At the same time, there was another step hidden in the threat for him to climb——
Historically, in the second half of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Hou Xun was released from imperial prison, resumed his position as Minister of Household Affairs, and was even later transferred to Huguang and Henan to supervise the divisions.
When Zuo Liangyu went north to Yancheng in the 15th year of Chongzhen to fight Li Zicheng in Zhuxian Town, it was his benefactor Hou Xun who urged him to fight when he was supervising the division. He also rarely gave Hou Xun a face and contributed his strength. Although he fought hard, he was defeated by Li Zicheng and all his elite troops were lost.
Now, because of the butterfly effect, Yang Sichang is still alive and there is no need for anyone else to supervise Zuo Liangyu.
Secondly, Shen Shuren also promoted many reforms in the Ministry of Revenue and attracted many powerful people to work together. The current Minister of the Ministry of Revenue has been promoted to official position by Jiang Dejing.
Thirdly, because the Hou family colluded with Zuo Liangyu and was muddled by Chen Shuren, the reputation of the Hou family became even worse. Hou Fangyu had been kicked out of the "Four Young Masters of Jiangzuo" in Nanjing Shilin and became a human being. A despised existence. Hou Xun is even expected to be imprisoned in imperial prison until death.
If Zuo Liangyu acts rashly again and causes losses to the court, then Chongzhen will directly kill Hou Xunwen!
Zuo Liangyu hesitated again and again, and finally found a step for himself.
He was able to apologize to Shen Shuren in public with great courtesy. He got off his horse and stood there with his hands folded until Shen Shuren and his party left.
The generals behind him were furious, and even Hao Xiaozhong, who was beaten to a bloody pulp, shouted:
"General! When have we ever experienced such arrogance in our army? We have an army of 100,000, but we are afraid of such a civil servant with 20,000 troops! These guys have insulted us too much. I will go up and give them a good time, and then go and take the blame myself." Yes! It won’t implicate the general!”
"Idiot! Am I afraid of trouble? I am doing this for my benefactor, Hou Shangshu! Hou Shangshu is still imprisoned in the imperial edict! If the trouble gets bigger and someone misunderstands that there is any civil and military relationship, wouldn't it harm Hou Shangshu! "
Zuo Liangyu slapped him a few times and regained his face.
The generals felt uncomfortable, but they also found their way to the bottom of the steps, holding back their nausea and continuing to praise: "General, you are so righteous! I tolerated this Shen for Hou Shangshu! Otherwise, we would have killed such an ambitious villain long ago. Kill it!"
No matter what everyone thinks in their hearts, whether they laugh at Zuo Liangyu for being cut off or not, the stunning concubine can bear it. At least the lines spoken on the surface are enough for spiritual victory.
After regaining his face, Zuo Liangyu took a long time to come to his senses. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that his trick might not be able to convince the public, and he was afraid that he would end up losing face among his subordinates.
He thought bitterly to himself: This Chen Shuren is so powerful. He is calmer than the other military commanders and civil servants he met before. In a hurry, he can continue to slap people in the face to lose face, and at the same time threaten his benefactor, Shangguan. You, on the other hand, have already thought of getting off the stairs.
After all Chen Shuren had walked out several miles away, Zuo Liangyu figured out the logic of the encounter just now.
Originally, when he met Yuan Jixian, he didn't find it that difficult. Although Yang Sichang was majestic, he was already old. If he were more than ten years younger and more energetic, he would have the majestic skills of Chen Shuren.
This guy was able to frame him, and he was definitely not an easy person! Zuo Liangyu was sulky for a while, but there was nothing he could do.
On the other side, Shen Shuren and his personal guards quickly rode their horses to Baihe Pier, boarded the boat and took the waterway down the river. Zuo Zixiong and other generals beside him were still full of praise:
"Daotai is really heroic and capable of both civil and military skills. It makes a stubborn person like Zuo Liangyu speechless and shocked by you. I believe that other civil and military officials around Mr. Yang Ge will soon know about this." of."
Chen Shuren chuckled indifferently: "What's the point of bickering? Can you pursue it a little bit?"
On the same day, Shen Jiajun boarded the boat and went down the river. Two days later, he passed by Xiangyang again, stopped to attend to some daily business, and then continued south.
The fleet sailed along the Han River for four days and finally arrived at Hanyang Prefecture. Shen Shuren and his party stayed here to rest and wait for the boat to cross the river. By the way, they inspected the local guard post of Hanyang Prefecture and recognized the faces of the local military commanders. , hammering out the instructions, so that everyone can understand who is responsible for the future in Hanyang and Wuchang, and whose orders should be listened to.
Two days later, the Shen family's large fleet of ships arrived and took the eldest young master across the Yangtze River to the south before arriving at Wuchang Mansion. The reception of Zuo Liangyu's inheritance was also officially launched.