weaving

Chapter 1204 Zhang Cheng is really useful

Most of the Yingcheng Prince Garden outside the Bian Dike in the north of Kaifeng City has been abandoned. This is because it is about ten miles away from the north gate of Kaifeng, and the mighty Yellow River is not far to the north, making it very convenient for receiving military supplies such as food and fodder transported from the north bank.

Therefore, after crossing the Yellow River, the new Baoding Governor Zhang Fuzhen set up his Baoding headquarters here.

Some of the small pavilions and towers built in previous years in the Yingcheng County Prince's garden have not been completely destroyed. Zhang Fuzhen's central military tent is set up in a rather large flower hall.

Next to the garden is a village where dozens of families originally lived. They were all tenants of the Yingcheng Palace, and this village was also called Wangzhuang by local people.

Of course, there is no civilian left in this royal manor now, as they have all fled to other places to avoid war and human disasters. The manor has become a barracks, with more than 200 military tents of varying sizes surrounding it, and many horse stables in between.

In the garden hall that served as the governor's headquarters, many civil and military officials sat in a line...

There were three people sitting at the top, in the middle was the Governor of Baoding Zhang Fuzhen, and on the left and right were the hairless eunuchs Bian Yongqing, the supervisor of the Guiyang Yongyi Army, and Fang Zhenghua, the supervisor of the Zhenbao Town.

Bian Yongqing did not set out with Zhang Cheng this time, mainly to help Emperor Chongzhen verify the one million taels of silver. This was not a small amount of money. In the eyes of the emperor, this was the capital for his revival of the Ming Dynasty.

"Zhang Cheng is indeed useful. He is much more useful than those court officials, even more useful than those cabinet ministers!"

This was the comment that Emperor Chongzhen personally made to Zhang Cheng. Not only was Bian Yongqing present at the time, but also Wang Dehua and Wang Chengen, two of the emperor's most influential figures, were there to hear it with their own ears.

Not until the one million taels of silver had been thoroughly verified did Bian Yongqing, escorted by three hundred cavalrymen from the Beijing Camp, chase after the army of Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning. Because he met Zhang Fuzhen in Wu'an, he followed his army and marched towards Kaifeng.

Below were civil and military officials on both sides. On the left were Cao Kun, the attendant official of the Prince of Zhou's Palace, Liang Bing, the Left Governor of Henan, Su Zhuang, the Governor of Kaifeng, Huang Shu, the Procurator of Kaifeng Prefecture, Sang Kaidi, the Co-Governor of Henan Province, and several other civil officials from Henan and Kaifeng Prefecture, as well as Ji Youci, the Military Preparations Director of Weihuai.

Ji Youci was the military governor of Weihuai, and suppressing the bandits in Henan was part of his job. It was his duty and he had no choice but to do it. Moreover, as the brother-in-law of Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, he could not miss such a good opportunity to gain military merit.

Before, when Zhang Cheng's Yongyi Army was still on the north bank, Ji Youci had expressed his intention to cross the river to the south with the army. The reason why Zhang Cheng did not agree was that he wanted him to stay on the north bank. In this way, he could ensure his safety and also transport supplies to ensure victory.

But after Zhang Fuzhen arrived in Fengqiu, he strongly invited Ji Youci to come to his headquarters to help him with military affairs. Naturally, he wanted to repay the favor of Earl Yongning, but on a deeper level, he wanted to use Ji Youci's power to bind himself deeply to Ji Youci, so that Zhang Cheng could not abandon him.

It can be seen how difficult life is. There are little thoughts everywhere, and you have to think carefully about everything. If you are not careful, you will be tricked by others and fall into their trap!

On the right side, the first person is Henan General Chen Yongfu, Yongyi Army Suzaku Battalion Commander Zhang Guangda, Deputy Generals Xiang Jinbao and Wang Tieren, the pacification officer Liu Jingzhu, as well as Baoding Governor Biao Battalion Deputy General Zhang Dechang, Zhending Guard Commander Cao Shixi and other military officials. From this, we can see how difficult it was for Zhang Fuzhen to be the Governor of Baoding. He was almost like a commander without troops, with only more than 4,000 troops in the Biao Battalion under his command, which he could mobilize and use at will.

Among these more than 4,000 troops, the only veterans who could fight were the 1,000 brought back by Deputy General Zhang Dechang. The rest were half garrisons drawn from other guards, and a small number were newly recruited soldiers who had received less than three months of training. How could they fight?

Even the more than 1,500 people under the command of Zhending Guard Commander Cao Shixi could not be fully controlled by Zhang Fuzhen, the governor of Baoding. Cao Shixi had now completely defected to the staff of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng. Although he was still listed in the Baoding army, he only obeyed the orders of Suzaku Camp Chief Zhang Guangda.

Although this scene was not completely public, it was already a well-known secret in the Baoding army. Although Zhang Fuzhen was extremely dissatisfied in his heart, what could he do?

He knew very well that the Ming Dynasty court today could not do without Zhang Cheng and his Yongyi Army. If in prosperous times, civil officials were used to rule the country, in troubled times, these military generals would be needed to protect the country.

Moreover, Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, was a role model for military generals throughout the country. Internally, he defeated the rebels and lifted the siege of Kaifeng; externally, he defeated the Jian Nu and saved Jinzhou from danger.

Not to mention that the imperial court could not move the Earl of Yongning and the Yongyi Army, but even had to coax him to help the Ming Dynasty suppress rebellions and suppress bandits, defend the land and drive out slaves. Even Emperor Chongzhen in the Forbidden City had to rely on Zhang Cheng for money...

Let me ask you, who in the world can touch him, who is willing to touch him, and who dares to touch him?

Of course, there are still opposing sides, and there are still many people who want to see Zhang Cheng lose power, or even want to see him die.

But now is not the time yet. The birds are not yet gone and the rabbits are not yet dead. This is the time when good bows and running dogs will be of great use. So although they don't like Zhang Cheng's domineering behavior, they still have to tolerate it.

Zhang Fuzhen had exactly this mentality. Although he didn't want to see Zhang Cheng's domineering look, he knew very well that he still had some reliance on him and it was far from the time to turn against him. That was why he was tolerant in everything and tried his best to accommodate and cooperate with Zhang Cheng.

Looking at all the court officials in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Fuzhen's insight and magnanimity are undoubtedly first-rate. There are really not many civil and military officials in the court who can match him.

Now, he sat on the chair and first looked at Bian Yongqing, then at Fang Zhenghua. Seeing that they both nodded to him, he cleared his throat and said, "The Earl of Yongning has advanced his troops to Zhuxian Town, and together with Commander Ding, they are attacking the bandits from both north and south. At present, we are in a favorable position to suppress the bandits in Henan Province. If we can weaken the bandits' ferocity, we can advance step by step until we completely eliminate them."

His words greatly boosted the morale of the civil and military officials. However, the five people from Kaifeng, namely Cao Kun, Liang Bing, Su Zhuang, Huang Shu and Sang Kaidi, did not look very happy, but they did not say much.

Seeing that everyone was very excited, Zhang Fuzhen picked up a letter from the table in front of him, raised it in his hand, and said, "Today, Earl Yongning has sent a letter, asking this governor to send elite troops to help in order to put pressure on the rebels in Zhuxian Town."

He stopped here, his eyes wandering between Zhang Guangda and Cao Shixi. After a moment, he turned to the inspector Ren Jun and said to him, "Liang Fantai, how many troops can Kaifeng Prefecture send to Zhuxian Town to help the Earl of Yongning?"