weaving

Chapter 1166 What does this mean?

In the Battle of Defending the King in the 11th year of Chongzhen, Jiang Mingwu fought side by side with Zhang Cheng, who was then a thousand-man cavalry commander, against the slaves. It was in that battle that Zhang Cheng was appreciated and promoted by Lu Xiangsheng, the then governor of Xuanda, and gradually came to prominence in the Ming army. He was then appreciated by Yang Sichang of the cabinet and Chen Xinjia, the governor of Xuanfu. Even Emperor Chongzhen paid close attention to him, which opened the way for Zhang Cheng's progress and led to his current achievements.

Jiang Mingwu saw all of this. In fact, he admired Zhang Cheng very much when they fought side by side against the slaves in the eleventh year of Chongzhen. It's just that they contacted less after returning to the army. He also went to congratulate Zhang Cheng in person on his wedding, and sent someone to deliver a generous gift at the birth of his son. It was precisely because of this friendship that Jiang Mingwu also strongly supported Zhang Cheng's Yongyi Army when it entered Shanxi to crack down on profiteers.

  What’s more important is Li Fuming’s arrival, which is a huge stimulus to Jiang Mingwu!

Just think about it, which deputy general would not want to become the commander-in-chief of a town?

Jiang Mingwu was naturally no exception. He also wanted to become the commander-in-chief of a town, guard a place, be promoted and given a title, bring honor to his ancestors, and bless future generations.

Originally, these were just an idea in his mind. It was not until the demoted former general Li Fuming came to Taiyuan again and resumed his position as the general of Shanxi that he realized the true value of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng.

  As a deputy general of Xuan Da, how could those things happening on the Liaodong battlefield be hidden from his eyes?

What's more, he saw with his own eyes how the Earl of Yongning captured so many generals and wealthy merchants in the three towns of Xuanda in one fell swoop, and he killed them without hesitation and acted as if nothing had happened afterwards. The only punishment the court gave him was a demotion and a salary reduction.

At this point, Jiang Mingwu no longer had any doubts in his heart. He took the initiative to contact Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng and made only one request - to lead his subordinates to follow Yongning Earl's footsteps and go to Henan Province to suppress the bandits!

Zhang Cheng readily agreed to this. He knew the importance of the work of the unified station. Since he came to this parallel world, he has always adhered to the basic principle of "uniting all forces that can be united", even if it is a temporary unity. Therefore, Earl Yongning immediately wrote to the court to recruit Jiang Mingwu's troops to accompany him to assist in the suppression of Henan.

Of course, as to whether Jiang Mingwu can finally become a member of his camp, that depends on Zhang Cheng's own skills and Jiang Mingwu's own vision and perspective.

…………

At this moment, Jiang Mingwu saw in person that Wang Pu, the general of Datong, and Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, both worshipped the Earl of Yongning like a god and were willing to serve as their pawns. He also suddenly realized: He also had to hold on to the big leg of the Earl of Yongning in order to be rich and powerful!

Jiang Mingwu suddenly stood up from his seat, walked to the middle, knelt on one knee and bowed, saying: "Jiang Mingwu and his 3,000 soldiers now ask to follow the Earl of Yongning to Henan to suppress the bandits. We will obey the orders of the Earl of Yongning and are willing to follow his instructions to kill the bandits in front of the battle. There is no second thought!"

Facing the successive statements from Wang Pu, Li Fuming, Jiang Mingwu and others, Zhang Cheng did not show any special expression. After all, all this was expected.

Since they volunteered to follow the Yongyi Army out of Xuanda’s base and into Henan to suppress the bandits, it meant that they had already made this decision in their hearts. Now, saying it in front of the Yongyi Army’s generals was nothing more than further expressing their intentions in public.

However, Wang Pu and Li Fuming were completely in Zhang Cheng's control, and even their own camp was completely under Zhang Cheng's control. Not to mention that all the middle and lower-level officers were selected from the outstanding soldiers of the Yongyi Army, even their food, supplies, and even their wages were all supplied by the Yongyi Army.

Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for the standard camps of the generals of Datong and Shanxi to be separated from the Yongyi Army system. However, Wang Pu and Li Fuming were still of great use to Zhang Cheng... As the saying goes, "too much merit will frighten the ruler", and the Ming Emperor Chongzhen and the civil officials in the court would never allow all the powerful armies in the world to be under the command of Zhang Cheng alone. Zhang Cheng was very clear about this.

Therefore, he tried his best to win over Wang Pu and Li Fuming, and at the same time supported their forces with all his heart. His purpose was nothing more than to use them to replace himself, control the military affairs of Datong and Shanxi, and then unify the three towns of Xuanda under his own control.

This is just like the stock holding on behalf of others in later generations. Wang Pu and Li Fuming are just shareholders on the surface, but deep down they are just wage earners. If Zhang Cheng doesn't want to use them one day, he can replace them with someone else at any time.

In other words, even if he cannot replace them at that time, no matter who replaces them, the strongest armed force in the town, Biaoying, will be completely in Zhang Cheng's hands. Coupled with the support of his military force stationed in Xuanfu, outsiders will not be able to turn the situation around.

  Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen and the ministers in the court did not seem to be very opposed to this, and they even welcomed it!

This is because they always believe that "official positions" and "titles" are actually honorifics of the imperial court, just like the official positions of Wang Pu, Li Fuming and others were granted by the imperial court, not by Zhang Cheng. So even if Wang Pu, Li Fuming and others have frequent contacts with Zhang Cheng today, so what?

One day, the imperial court found an excuse to dismiss Zhang Cheng from his post, and instead promoted Wang Pu and Li Fuming in disguise. Wouldn't they be eager to get them and enjoy the benefits?

In the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen and his court officials, Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, was now training great generals for the court, and would be used by the Ming emperor and the court in the future...

  Both sides have their own little tricks and their own practical needs, and they have inexplicably reached a dangerous balance for the time being. It is hard to say who the winner will be until the last moment!

…………

At this moment, the side hall of Fanta Temple was silent, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng, waiting for his statement.

"General Jiang, please get up quickly."

Zhang Cheng, Earl of Yongning, continued with a kind face: "Since you have volunteered to go to Henan to suppress the bandits, it shows that you are loyal to the emperor and the country. This is a blessing for the court and the emperor. I am also very pleased!"

When Zhang Cheng said this, he clasped his fists and gestured towards the northern capital with a slightly excited look...

Jiang Mingwu had just stood up to obey the words of the Earl of Yongning, but after hearing what he just said, his heart skipped a beat. Feeling something was wrong, he quickly knelt on one knee again and bowed again with a very sincere attitude: "Earl of Yongning, Jiang Mingwu swears to heaven today that from today on, I, Jiang Mingwu, will obey the orders of the Earl of Yongning alone, regardless of the swords and the seas of fire, life and death, honor and disgrace, and will allow the Earl of Yongning to drive and use me without any hesitation."

"Jiang Mingwu, you and I are both favored by the emperor. We should accept orders from the Ministry of War and obey the orders of the current emperor."

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng asked him in a slightly cold tone: "How dare you say today that you only obey me, what do you mean by that?"

(End of this chapter)