weaving

"My father wrote to me, asking me to dissuade you from accepting the imperial order from the Bandit Suppression Commander."

"Ha ha……"

Zhang Cheng smiled faintly and said, "I have received the imperial edict. Can I still return it to the emperor?"

"Father's letter means... he is worried that you will offend the officials and scholars in the court and become the target of public criticism, which will be detrimental to your future career!"

"Unfavorable to me?"

Zhang Cheng raised the corner of his mouth, smiled contemptuously and said: "Civil servants and scholars? Are they trying to harm me with their pens and mouths?"

"My dear husband, don't you know the saying 'A knife can kill people, everyone knows it; a pen can kill people, but not everyone knows it'?"

Ji Xuanzhu was still persuading him patiently: "'The sword of a warrior and the pen of a scholar are both tools for killing people.' Husband, do you think they will fight you to death with their pens?

They are not that stupid. The pen of a scholar is as good as the sword of a warrior. Although they cannot kill people directly with it, they can write articles of criticism that distort right and wrong and attack you. What's worse, they can slander and spread rumors, distort the facts when writing history, and write you as a treacherous and evil person."

"Hmph. Madam, don't you know that 'history books are always written by the victors'?"

Zhang Cheng continued with a look of disdain: "Your husband now has no worries about money and food, and has a strong army. Even the powerful Liaodong Jiannu and the Central Plains bandits can't do anything to me. What can a bunch of weak civil officials and scholars do to me?"

"After my husband has suppressed the bandits and pacified the Central Plains, we will march into Liaodong, pacify the Jiannu, and then assist the emperor in reviving the Ming Dynasty."

He walked over and stood in front of Ji Xuanzhu, and said calmly: "At that time...how the historian's pen knife wrote was not decided by your husband, was it not?"

Zhang Cheng turned his back and looked out the window at the moonlight, saying leisurely: "The spirit of the literati is no longer there, and the sharpness of the pen has long since disappeared!"

Before Ji Xuanzhu could say anything else, Zhang Cheng turned around and asked her, "Madam, are Huimei and her group of female thieves doing well in the city?"

"Huimei is fine. She is pregnant and has been suffering from severe morning sickness lately. She is completely listless and has been staying in her room all day to take care of the baby."

"Yes. Madam, since you have become a sister to Huimei, you should fulfill your responsibilities and show more love and care to Huimei and take good care of her until she gives birth."

"This is natural."

Ji Xuanzhu chuckled and said, "Huimei and I really get along well. This is her first time giving birth and she has no experience at all. As her elder sister, I naturally have to take care of her more."

"Hmm. How's that Wisdom Sword? I hope it doesn't cause any more trouble!"

"Nothing unusual happened."

Ji Xuanzhu covered her mouth and smiled as she continued, "However, she still organizes the female soldiers of the Xiaochuangying to train every day, and the noise is still quite loud."

"Let her do whatever she wants."

Zhang Cheng said gently, "Azhu, tell Honggu and Xiuyue to keep a close eye on Huijian. This girl is still thinking about rebellion, so we must be on guard against her doing something in secret."

"Xuan Zhu knows."

Ji Xuanzhu's cheeks flushed slightly, and she whispered softly, "My dear, it's getting late, you should...rest!"

Zhang Cheng had also been on the front line for a long time and had never had the opportunity to get close to women. Even when Ji Xuanzhu was stationed in Xinchengji, he never stayed overnight in Ji Xuanzhu's tent because he wanted to set an example in front of all the soldiers.

Now that his pretty wife has invited him to a fight, how can Zhang Cheng refuse?

"Come on... Xiao Azhu, I will fight with you till dawn tonight!" …………

Just when the court appointed Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng as the right commander-in-chief of the Central Military Governor's Office, commander-in-chief of military affairs including Baoding, and in charge of all military operations to suppress bandits in the Central Plains.

The situation of confrontation between the two armies in Zhuxian Town also underwent tremendous changes.

Two deep and wide trenches meandered from south to north, separating the Xinchengji official army camp from the left and right camps. The only way to communicate with each other was to go around a long way to the north.

"Commander-in-chief, the enemy's long trench is about to close in."

Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, said anxiously, "If we don't find a solution, Xinzhuang will be cut off from the commander-in-chief's camp!"

"Yes, Commander."

Wang Pu, the general of Datong, also interrupted and said, "We can't let the bandits keep digging like this. If we really let his long trenches surround us, I'm afraid the morale of the army will be shaken."

…………

Ever since Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, was given the title of "Supervisor of the military affairs of seven towns including Baoding, and overall command of the military operations to suppress bandits in the Central Plains", the generals of the Yongyi faction changed their title of "Marshal-in-Chief" to "Supervisor-in-Chief".

Unlike other governors and commanders-in-chief in the court, he was not called "Minister of the Governorate" or "Commander-in-Chief".

This was because Zhang Cheng was a true military commander. Even if he was not given the title of "Superintendent of Military Affairs of the Seven Towns of Baoding", no governor or commander-in-chief could fully command and dispatch him.

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng will always be the commander-in-chief of all the brave and resolute generals - there is no doubt about it!

However, in order to check and balance Zhang Cheng, the court did not grant him the real power of governor or commander-in-chief. Zhang Cheng was only the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the seven towns, while the important responsibility of raising money and supervising transportation of grain was given to Henan Governor Gao Mingheng.

However, this did not affect the excitement of the generals of the Yongyi faction at all. After all, there had been no military generals commanding the army in the Ming Dynasty for more than a hundred years. Today, they were able to appoint Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng as the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the seven towns. Perhaps in the near future, they would issue another decree to appoint Zhang Cheng as the real governor-general and minister of military affairs.

…………

"Commander-in-chief, Generals Li and Wang are right. We can no longer allow the bandits to dig trenches." Henan General Chen Yongfu also spoke.

Earl Yongning looked at the three of them, then at the other generals, and asked, "What do you think...how can we break the impasse?"

"Concentrate our cavalry and charge at one point. As long as we break a hole, the bandits' plan of setting up a long trench will fail." Li Fuming seemed to have thought this through carefully.

"Fuming, where do you think we should make a breakthrough?"

"Zhaojiaying." Li Fuming said firmly.

Seeing that Earl Yongning did not object and that all the generals were paying full attention to him, he continued to explain, "Zhaojiaying is located in the northern section of the long trench to the west of the rebels. It is more than thirty miles south of the rebel camp and ten miles north of the northern end of the long trench. It is difficult for the rebels to get reinforcements from the main camp if we attack them suddenly. Although there are tens of thousands of rebels at the northern end, the attack happened suddenly. By the time they arrive in full force, we have already broken through the long trench."

"How can it be so fast?" Hu Zichen raised his own question: "If it only makes a small hole, it will be meaningless!"

"hey-hey……"

Li Fuming laughed wickedly and said, "Two miles east of the long trench where the Zhaojiaying bandits are, there is a big river. The current is quite fast and the water is abundant. We just need to open a hole in the long trench and dig up the river bank to divert the water and break the trench."

"Although this saves manpower, it will turn the country into a swamp and won't help the problem, right?" Chen Yongfu also raised his own question. (End of this chapter)