weaving

That night, the banquet ended in the middle of the Xu Dynasty, but Zhang Cheng didn't come out of the governor's courtyard until the end of the Xu Dynasty. He looked up at the starry sky, breathed out a big breath of alcohol, and suddenly felt a lot of relief in his chest and abdomen.

After all the officials and generals had dispersed, Wang Chengen left him alone to continue the banquet, but this time even Zhang Ruoqi, the commander in chief, and Qiu Minyang, the governor, were not able to participate.

There were only Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, Zhang Cheng, and Hong Chengchou at the banquet, and the central content of the banquet was no longer to celebrate Zhang Cheng and Hong Chengchou's achievements.

After the [-]-day wine, Wang Chengen mentioned a question that everyone couldn't avoid, but it was inconvenient to ask, that is, when can the troops be withdrawn from Liaodong?
It turned out that after Fu Zonglong, the new governor of the three sides, died in Xiangcheng in September, Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, led the army to flee first, and was dismissed from his post by Emperor Chongzhen and temporarily served as an official in order to redeem himself.

Although Yang Wenyue tried his best to collect the scattered soldiers, his strength was also greatly weakened and he was unable to fight again, so he led his troops to Gao Mingheng, governor of Henan Province, to assist in the defense of Kaifeng.

Now trespassers are ravaging the land of Yu Province, and no one can rule them, although there is Ding Qirui, the Minister of the Ministry of War, the governor of Huguang, Henan, Sichuan and the north and south of the Yangtze River.

However, he led Zuo Liangyu and other generals, only in Guangshan, Shangzhou, Gushi and other places to pursue Zhang Xianzhong and Gezuo's fifth battalion of rebels, and did not dare to lead the army north to fight against the rebels.

Although the imperial court issued an edict appointing Wang Qiaonian as the right servant of the Ministry of War to replace Fu Zonglong as the governor of the Trilateral Military Affairs, and marched into Henan to suppress bandits, but even though the Ministry of War issued one after another, Wang Qiaonian was still unable to go out to fight.

There is no other reason, because most of Shaanxi's elite soldiers and horses were defeated and killed after leaving Shaanxi with Fu Zonglong. Where did you ask Wang Qiaonian to get so many soldiers and horses in a short time?
Let's just ask, even if the imperial court appoints him as the governor of the three sides, but there are no generals to use, no troops to transfer, even if Wang Qiaonian has three heads and six arms, so what can he do.

Therefore, the Chongzhen Emperor, who was already in a state of desperation, was very excited after hearing the news that he had successfully solved the brocade siege on the Liaodong battlefield and killed the slave thieves again and again.

It seemed that there was only this good news in the past few months, which could give him some comfort, but at the same time, Emperor Chongzhen also discovered that wherever there is Zhang Cheng, there will be good news.

Just like the previous time when Luoyang fell and Fufan was in trouble, it was Zhang Cheng who not only saved the son of Fufan, but also relieved the danger of Kaifeng, and even chased the intruders hundreds of miles away.

Not long ago, it was also the news that Zhang Chengzhen killed the slave king Duoduo, which greatly lifted his spirits, as if he had never felt so happy since playing Yuji.

According to Emperor Chongzhen's wishes, Zhang Cheng was going to be made an earl at that time, but he was blocked by the senior cabinet ministers of the court. Although Chen Xinjia supported him, but because he was not a cabinet minister, his words were light-hearted, which was useless.

It can be seen from this that although it is said that "Under the sky, is it the land of the king, and the shore of the land, is it the ministers of the king." However, the emperors after the middle of the Ming Dynasty found it difficult to rely on their own will without the support of their courtiers. make a decision.

Fortunately, this time Liaodong revealed its victory again, and successfully drove away the slaves and captives, and broke the siege of Jinzhou.

According to the reports from Jinyiwei and Dongchang, the whole city of the capital is already boiling, people are running to tell each other, the streets and alleys are full of people talking about it, and the deeds of Zhang Cheng's two names, Wang Yuetuo and Duoduo, have once again become the capital of the capital. The focus of public discussion.

This undoubtedly gave Emperor Chongzhen great courage and confidence. He secretly warned himself that he would never be hindered by the cabinet ministers again, and that he must reward Zhang Cheng with a big seal, so as not to chill the hearts of loyal ministers and good generals.

It was precisely because of Emperor Chongzhen's insistence that Zhang Cheng was named "Bo Yongning"!
Wang Chengen and Fang Zhenghua kept revealing the reason for this during the banquet. Naturally, they wanted to make Zhang Cheng feel deeply grateful for the emperor's kindness, so that they would often think of reporting the emperor's kindness in the future.

However, Emperor Chongzhen still had a secret decree, which was passed on to Wang Chengen, the internal supervisor who stayed on the front line in Liaodong, asking him to test the governor of Jiliao, Hong Chengchou, whether the officers and troops of the towns of Jiliao could resist the slaves?

If it was feasible, Emperor Chongzhen wanted to transfer Xuan's troops back to his army to send them to Henan to help suppress Chuangxian and other rogues.

Nanyang Mansion is the fiefdom of the three sons of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang No. 20 of the Ming Dynasty, King Zhu of the Tang Dynasty. Under his rule, there are two prefectures and eleven counties, and it is more than 680 miles away from Kaifeng Fucheng.

During the Yongle period, a large-scale Tang Dynasty palace was built in Nanyang City. After several generations of reproduction, nine new county palaces were built in Nanyang City during the Chenghua period.

It can be said that the royal relatives and nobles gathered in Nanyang City, and there was a lot of traffic all day long, and the business was also active. Merchants from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei and other places came in droves.

Various commercial guild halls and mansions also sprang up in the city, and food, cotton, raw silk, tobacco, silk, oil, fur, wood, medicinal materials, copper, iron, etc. poured into Nanyang in large quantities, and sold them all over Ming Dynasty.

At that time, Nanyang City was thriving in all kinds of industries, including architecture, gardens, paintings, sculptures, calligraphy and so on.

But who would have thought that such a large city with a large population and extremely prosperous economy and trade would soon be destroyed by intruders. Not only the Tang Wang family would suffer, but even the people in the city would have no peace.

And Emperor Chongzhen was eager to transfer Zhang Cheng's Xuanda soldiers back to Henan to help suppress the rebellion because of his worries about Nanyang and even the whole territory of Henan.

During the banquet, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, did not express any clear opinion on this. He said that the war in Liaodong was very important. Although the slaves retreated temporarily, there was no guarantee that they would not come again.

But instead, he said that bandits were raging in Henan Province, and the Nanyang Tang Dynasty was in danger, but he had to ignore it. He didn't mention whether Xuan Da's aid to Liao soldiers could be withdrawn, but only said that emergency dispatch Ding Qirui and Wang Qiaonian met to enter Henan Province to suppress bandits at the same time.

In fact, Wang Chengen's use of today's banquet was just a test. After all, the army of [-] slaves is near Jinzhou, and they can make a comeback at any time.

…………

When the appointed time came, Zhang Cheng left Governor Xingyuan drunkenly.

The biting cold wind blew on his body, and Zhang Cheng sneezed violently. He wrapped his woolen cloak tightly, and with the support of Zhang Chengfang and Zhang Mingyuan, he got on his horse and walked slowly to his residence.

At this time, Zhang Cheng, who was on the horse, blew the wind and felt a surge of alcohol. Although he didn't drink much, he didn't drink as much as his generals, but he did drink a lot.

A feeling of dizziness hit, Zhang Cheng hurriedly grabbed the reins of the horse, and tried his best to control his body from shaking from side to side, so as not to lose his balance and fall off the horse, which would be embarrassing.

Fortunately, Zhang Chengfang was leading the way, and he controlled the deceleration very well, not in a hurry, although the horse was always bumpy, Zhang Cheng could bear it.

Soon, they arrived at the station of the Xuanfu Army in Songshan City. This was where Zhang Cheng stayed when he first arrived in Songshan. Later, he lived in the barracks all the time, and this place was left unused.

However, even so, there was still a round of Xuanfu army infantry stationed here. Before Zhang Cheng dismounted, he saw a soldier rushing towards him. He grabbed the reins and hurriedly said: "Commander, you are back. Chen Shuai from Beijing Camp, Wang Shuai from Datong, and Li Shuai from Shanxi Province have been waiting here for a long time.”

Before Zhang Cheng could answer, Zhang Chengfang was the first to come forward, and scolded with a smile: "Zhang Guang, you boy can hold your palms, and your father is now the general of Zhenshuo, a majestic 'Yongning Bo'. Call the adoptive father 'jueshuai'."

Zhang Guang was also one of the 36 adoptive sons Zhang Cheng accepted at the beginning. They are now all used by Zhang Cheng's side as personal soldiers. Come out with some future.

After he listened to Zhang Chengfang's words suddenly, his eyes widened and his mouth was wide open but he couldn't close it. He was stunned for half a stick of incense before he could react.

Zhang Guang hastily bowed down and knelt down and said, "Zhang Guang, congratulations to foster father, congratulations to foster father."

As he spoke, he bowed down again and said, "See 'Bo Yongning', and pay homage to Jue Shuai!"

The four infantrymen from the right side of the Chinese army who were on duty in front of the gate also came forward at this moment, bowed down and bowed, and shouted loudly, "Congratulations to the general, congratulations to the general, and my respect to the marshal."

Since then, because of the reckless remarks of adopted son Zhang Chengfang, there are not many people in the Xuanfu army who call him General Zhang Cheng, and almost all the generals under his command are called "jueshuai".

Before Zhang Cheng stepped into his mansion, he saw Chen Jiugao, Wang Pu, Li Fuming, and the deputy general Fu Yingchong who could hear the commotion came out from inside.

Chen Jiugao, Wang Pu, Fu Yingchong and others walked out quickly, their faces full of joy, and they didn't know whether they were happy for Zhang Cheng or happy because their family had won the military merit award.

After all, Li Fuming, the general soldier of Shanxi, was a person who had been punished and suffered. He acted much more prudently than before. He knelt down and worshiped from a long distance away: "Li Fuming, general soldier of Shanxi, see 'Yongning Bo'!"

After he reminded, only Chen Jiugao, Wang Pu and others thought of this matter, Zhang Cheng is now a majestic "Yongning Bo", and his status is much higher than these generals.

Out of emotion and reason, when they saw Zhang Cheng, they always bowed down and bowed down. At that moment, Chen Jiugao, Wang Pu and the others stopped and bowed down.

Seeing this, Zhang Cheng hurriedly stepped forward, supported the two of them, and said anxiously: "Why do you need to be so polite, why are the two elder brothers and Zhong Chen so polite."

After he pulled Chen Jiugao and Wang Pu up, he stopped Fu Yingchong from kneeling, and then he had time to pull Li Fuming up, and said to him: "Brother, this really breaks me."

Several people saw that Zhang Cheng treated them so kindly and without any affectation, they couldn't help feeling happy from the bottom of their hearts, and they followed Zhang Cheng all the way to the inner hall.

The reason why Wang Pu and others have been waiting for Zhang Cheng is nothing more than wanting to hug the big tree "Yongning Bo" tightly. Through the several battles since the aid to Liao Dynasty, they understand a truth.

That is, as long as they stay by Zhang Cheng's side, they won't have to worry about military exploits. Now that Zhang Cheng is advancing every step of the way, and the future is even more limitless, how can they be willing to let go.

After arriving in the inner room, Zhang Cheng ordered people to quickly prepare some food and drink. He wanted to have a drink with his brothers...

…………

For three days in a row, there was an endless stream of people coming to congratulate him, making it almost impossible for Zhang Cheng to even go out.

Songshan City was full of joy, but the slaves did not see any action at all. As the guards reported back one after another, in the past two days, it was found that groups of slaves had withdrawn from the White Temple Castle. The two pontoon bridges on the river were burned down by them.

"It seems that the slaves really want to withdraw their troops?"

In a side room of Governor Xingyuan, Governor of Liaodong Qiu Minyang said with a questioning expression on his face.

Hong Chengchou seemed to be thinking about something and didn't answer, but his aide Li Song answered, "Bo Yongning's sentry cavalry have always been strong, and they have always been very effective in detecting news. It seems that there is no mistake."

Xie Sixin poured tea for Qiu Minyang beside him, and then said: "The student and Mr. Li have the same conjecture, but it still remains to be seen. Maybe it will be clear in a few days."

He went on to say: "Even though Uncle Yongning's subordinates are strong and powerful, the Superintendent Biao Battalion and General Changbo's sentry cavalry are not much inferior. There is also General Xiao Cao's camp that does not accept nights, and they all found slaves. Thieves have been mobilized frequently in recent days.

Even the slaves in Liushuibao and Dashengbao seemed to be retreating to Yizhou, and their carts kept heading north. "

Qiu Minyang glanced at Hong Chengchou at this time, and said slowly: "Minister, if it is confirmed that the slaves are indeed reducing their troops, the prince will definitely urge Xuan Dayuan Liao soldiers to return to the division again."

At this time, Hong Chengchou slowly opened his eyes, and two rays of light shot out. Although his appearance was as elegant as before, but there was a sense of majesty, which made people dare not look directly at him.

"Xuan Da's aid to the Liao Dynasty will eventually be withdrawn, even the soldiers and horses of the battalions in Ji Town should not live in the Songjin area for a long time."

Hong Chengchou looked at Qiu Minyang, and continued: "You know from Changbai, how huge is the daily consumption of money and food for my army of tens of thousands, Biji Songjinjian?

In the past, slaves and thieves attacked Jin very fiercely, and the imperial court also knew that Jinzhou should not be lost, so they worked hard to raise food and grass, and traveled thousands of miles to transport it here.

But since my division entered the city of Jinzhou and the slaves retreated, the grain and grass transported in have been worsening day by day. "

"Ugh……"

Hong Chengchou sighed, and then continued: "Even if there is no urging from the court and the prince, Xuan Da aids the Liao King Division, and it is absolutely impossible to stay under Songshan City.

Don't say that Xuan Da aided Liao soldiers, even the battalions in Ji Town had to be transferred back to their respective camps, otherwise Liaodong's hoard of grain would be eaten up by them.

If this is the case, how can the castles in Liao Town satisfy their hunger, survive this severe winter, and the next spring will start, where will they get grain seeds? "

Several people nodded after hearing Hong Chengchou's words. Now the situation in Liaodong is exactly as Hong Chengchou said. Seeing that the siege of Jinzhou has been lifted, the imperial court is no longer as active as it used to be in the transportation of grain and grass.

At this time, Xie Sixin seemed to think of something, and he said worriedly: "General Changbo rushed back to Jinzhou early yesterday, even Zu Dabi and Zu Dale left with him.

Could it be that something happened to Zu Shuai? "