prosperous age

Chapter 161 Chapter 160
The bright moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the lake.

Zhang Hongfu, Wu Dong and others huddled in the bow of the boat, eating lake delicacies and drinking small wines, living a happy life.

"I've been out for two days, let's go back tomorrow morning."

At this time, Wei Wencai spoke.

Today, he bumped into Yu Dayou while climbing a mountain. He got the news that the Japanese pirates were punished and went to inspect the heads of the Japanese pirates.

After resolving the misunderstanding, the two groups parted ways.

The banner of Wu Dong and the others was still to search around, in case there were scattered Japanese pirates escaping.

"Yes, I guess the order to go back will come down soon, I'm afraid it will be close to October when I return to Jiujiang, and Guangde will go to Beijing to catch the exam soon."

Wu Dong nodded and said.

"Okay, go back."

Zhang Hongfu took a sip of his wine and said with a smile: "I didn't see it, Guangde knew that the other party might be an official, so he fired the blunderbuss directly, and he was not afraid that he would shoot you directly."

While the few people were laughing and laughing on the boat, a banquet was also being held in a big house in Zhongxi Town.

In the town, it is naturally impossible to have beautiful dancers performing dances to add to the fun, that is, Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng from the Weisuo, representing Jiujiangwei, came to investigate the Changzhou prefect and Zhejiang commander and general Yu Dayou.

The prefect of Changzhou arrived the day before. After Yu Dayou arrived this afternoon, he immediately inspected the corpses of the Japanese pirates and confirmed that they were correct.

Therefore, they signed the inspection document on the spot, and then asked Wu Zhankui to arrange for the soldiers to chop off the head and wrap it in lime and send it to the Nanjing Ministry of War to dispose of the corpse as soon as possible.

At this time, if it is left for another two days, it will really stink.

The prefect of Changzhou just ate a few mouthfuls of food, drank two glasses of wine, and left the banquet with overwhelming strength. At this moment, only Wu Zhankui, Wei Meng and Yu Dayou were left at the dinner table.

"Your son is very courageous, and he shoots guns in front of me."

Yu Dayou said to Wei Meng.

The three met before when they were in Zhejiang, and had two drinks.

The reason why Yu Dayou asked them to drink was also because he heard that these two soldiers and Japanese pirates had fought head-on. For him who had just arrived, he naturally urgently needed some generals who could fight, so he took the initiative to contact them.

Of course, he was disappointed.

The two are used to enjoying the inland, and they are unwilling to stay in Zhejiang to fight against the Japanese.

However, after drinking twice, the three of them were a little familiar, otherwise Wu Zhankui would not have known that Yu Dayou's family was a hereditary family, that he was a scholar, or a martial artist.

"From what you said, the one who played the gun should be Guangde. He likes firearms very much, but I didn't realize that he was so courageous."

Wu Zhankui answered with a smile.

"The anger is not small. When I saw them carrying bird guns, I asked curiously, and I got angry at me."

Yu Dayou said with a big smile.

Wei Meng picked up the wine glass on the table and said with a smile: "It's a shame to bring a dog, don't get angry with children, do it."

The three of them drank the wine, and the sergeant next to him immediately came up and filled the three glasses again.

"Don't look at my nephew, who is only 16 years old. He is a gentleman. If you really want to conflict, if it gets bigger, you will be frustrated."

Now Wu Zhankui spoke again.

"Juren?"

Yu Dayou looked like you were teasing me, "There are Juren and Jinshi in the northern guards, but in the southern guards, forgive me for being ignorant and rare."

"Why am I lying to you? Don't you say that you failed the provincial examination twice. My nephew passed the examination twice. They will leave in November of the same year and go to Beijing to take the exam."

"I see. You are showing off. When I was admitted as a scholar, your family only had Tongsheng."

Yu Dayou curled his lips, "But it's really powerful, but the edges and corners are a bit sharp and need to be sharpened."

"Indeed, Guangde's merit test went very smoothly."

Wei Meng nodded, he also noticed that today's matter would not have caused such trouble at all.

It's just that he didn't know that Wei Guangde was planning to rob them in the past and Yu Dayou belonged to the category of official robbers.

"It's okay. I have a friend in Beijing. I'll write a letter of divorce later. Just ask him to take care of him."

Seeing that Wei Meng was thinking, Yu Dayou knew that he was worried about the child, so he simply smiled and said, "By the way, how powerful those Japanese pirates are, you should know better if you fight directly."

"It's all at the end of its strength, how strong do you think it is?"

Wu Zhankui laughed and said, "Of course the military newspaper can't report it truthfully. Everyone knows it. Come, drink and drink."

On the second day, when the two boats docked at the pier, Zhang Hongfu, Wei Guangde and his party jumped off the boat and returned to Zhongxi Town only to find out that the prefect of Changzhou and the general of Zhejiang Province who had come to examine the dead bodies of the Japanese pirates early this morning had already left.

The prefect of Changzhou would naturally not be willing to stay in the army for a long time, and Yu Dayou would naturally return to Jiaxing to continue commanding the encirclement and suppression of Tuolin pirates.

At this time, in the Wuhu Jiujiangwei temporary camp, Zhang Shigui was discussing matters with his father Zhang Qing.

"What Zhankui meant was to ask Wei Meng to serve as Qianhu in the rear army. Why did you agree and send the news to the father-in-law?"

Because Zhang Qing's health is getting worse day by day, so Zhang Shigui came out this time without worrying about it.

"The seat is vacant, and there is always someone to sit on."

Zhang Qing said with drooping eyelids.

"Now that the Lord has taken the garrison position in Nanjing again, it means that the Lord's position with the emperor has also been restored, and I can definitely let me take the lead."

Before Zhang Shigui could finish his sentence, Zhang Qing's eyes suddenly opened and he stared back, "Turn around, I will resign from my post, and you will take over the duties of the commander."

Hearing his father's words, Zhang Shigui's eyes suddenly widened.

It's not a good time for the old man to take office at this time.

It is impossible to directly command a colleague, and as a rule, he can only take the position of commanding others first.

Now the seven command positions of Jiujiang Guard are all full.

When the old man became an official, one of the commanders was vacated, and one of the other four ministers must be able to take the position.

"Now is an opportunity to let Zhankui take the position of commanding colleagues, which is better than giving it to others."

Zhang Qing glanced at his son, and continued: "Now that Zhankui has military merits, he just happens to be in the position.

Wei Meng wants to be promoted, and the position of Qianhu in the rear army just happens to be vacant, don't worry about your position, as long as you firmly grasp the relationship with the father-in-law, everything is still in your hands. "

"I always feel wrong about Zheng Yixiang. It stands to reason that he shouldn't just die like this."

After hearing the old man's words, Zhang Shigui knew that it was irreversible. The old man must have calculated it, and it was best for his family to do so, but he still raised the question in his heart.

"Don't think about it, it's just a waste. More than 200 people can't even fight a battle, and they lost their lives."

Zhang Qing shook his head, he didn't take Zheng Yixiang's death to heart at all, even if there was a problem, so what, he could still reverse the case for the dead man?
Once dead, it is worthless.

"But."

Zhang Shigui thought about his words, and it took him a long time to continue: "Let Zhankui and Wei Meng climb up so fast, it will be difficult to control in the future, and Zhankui will still be above me when the time comes."

"You, you have been with me for so long, but you still don't understand what the status of our military attache is."

Zhang Qing glanced at his son, "The most important thing when working in the guard is not the size of the official position, but the backer at the top.

There is another more important thing, many people haven't figured it out yet, I feel that that boy Wei Meng has noticed something, that is, don't move the nest easily, even if you want to move, you have to be prepared for it. "

Zhang Shigui was full of question marks at the moment, he understood what his father said before, but he was puzzled behind.

"Don't move around."

Zhang Qing looked at Zhang Shigui and said calmly: "As long as you stay in this guard and get promoted, you can let the little one inherit something.

When you have enough qualifications and want to be promoted, it is simple, through the relationship of the father-in-law, transfer people to the Nanjing Jingying, where there are as many conductors as dogs, and you will be able to succeed in the position.

The reason why I have been relying on this position is not because you can only do other things in your job, and the position of Tongzhi will definitely not be kept.

You remember, don't seek promotion at any time, just stay in the guard, Jiujiang is a good place. "

Zhang Shigui nodded, he understood what his father meant.

Whether it is Wu Zhankui or Wei Meng, if they are disobedient and dishonest, they will be transferred to Nanjing Jingying. Even if they are promoted by half a level, it will be a loss.

Their Zhang family didn't go anywhere, but stayed in Jiujiang Weili.

"Then what about Wu Dong and Wen Cai?"

Zhang Shigui also thought about the successors of the Wu and Wei families. He was a little unsure. Can Qianhu and Baihu bother the father-in-law to make a move?
"Let's stay. The two of them have a good relationship with Hongfu. The position will not be reserved for Hongfu in the future. He also needs help."

Zhang Qing glanced at Zhang Shigui, "You are all relatives after all, you can really do everything."

"No wonder they made meritorious service last time. They only wanted their sons to succeed in their posts and stay in their vacancies. If they couldn't succeed in their posts, they wouldn't even want to be promoted."

"Hehe, you just understand."

Zhang Qing narrowed his eyes again, "This time things went well, my father-in-law is very happy, who would have thought that such a coincidence, just after the imperial decree was issued over there, Chen Hong and Chen Eunuch are still urging the father-in-law to send troops to encircle and suppress the Japanese pirates, the battle here Just finished typing, and the victory report will be sent to the father-in-law, hehe.
When the inspection documents arrive, you can go to Nanjing City to meet the father-in-law, show your face, and bring my resignation documents with you by the way. This should be done at this time. "

A few days later, Zhongxi Town.

The Ming army stationed here for ten days finally formed a team again. After handling the handover procedures with the county government clerks, more than 400 people from the Jiujiang Guard were still divided into three teams and returned the same way. This time their destination was Wuhu and joined the Jiujiang Guard Brigade. , and then return to the station.

The journey went smoothly. When passing through Liyang County, the magistrate of Liyang organized the squires to send a lot of wine and meat.

This time on the expedition, the soldiers of the Youjun Qianhu Office were full of food. How could there be such a good thing in the past, and being able to eat enough was considered a gift from the superior.

After losing the battle and many people died, the army Qianhusuo was more sad, and the wine and meat were the least distributed. They still dare not say anything. Their leading bosses all died in the hands of Japanese pirates. It was from the Youjun, what can I say.

After passing Liyang, we still boarded the ship in Guangtong Town, and arrived at Wuhu to meet Commander Wei without a word.

It was only when boarding the boat that Wei Meng, the governor of Wei Zhen, came over to check on the situation of the rear army, scolded the person in charge of the logistics, and sent a lot of wine and meat, which made the soldiers of the rear army feel a lot of anger towards Wei Zhenfu. Good impression.

Well, if you are a soldier these days, you must be a mother if you have milk.

I heard from the soldiers at the Bengshan Fort that when they were soldiers under Wei Baihu, their life was the best in the surrounding guards. At least they could eat, and the surrounding military households were willing to marry their daughters.

As for the few soldiers around Zheng Yixiang, they failed to protect the chief officer Zhouquan at the critical moment, and were directly sentenced to death by Wei Zhenfu, no one talked about it for a long time.

At the beginning of October, the Jiujiang Guard Fleet returned to Jiujiang Mansion.

Just like a few years ago, Jiujiangwei won another big victory in this expedition, and directly wiped out all the Japanese pirates fleeing in Zhejiang and Nanzhili, which can be regarded as a big hit.

When Wei Guangde and the others participated in the Luming Banquet, Jiangxi's capital and chief envoys were still worried about the Japanese pirates who were close at hand, and issued multiple documents in succession ordering all counties in the east to recruit soldiers for training to prepare for the invasion of Japanese pirates. .

It's all right now, the heads of the Japanese pirates have all been beheaded, and their heads are hanging on the city of Nanjing.

The reward money has already been obtained in Wuhu. According to the reward stipulated by the imperial court, the Nanjing household department directly distributed it.

As for the reward, we can only wait.

After Zhang Shigui sent the survey documents and the head of the Japanese pirates to Nanjing, Chen Hong and Chen Gonggong took the victory report and other memorials and walked the Grand Canal back to Beijing. .

But what surprised Zhang Shigui a little was that in Wei Guogong's mansion, Chen Gonggong took him to learn more about the situation of this battle.

Although Zhang Shigui did not come to the front line in person, the letter sent by Wu Zhankui together with the victory report described the situation of the battle in detail, especially Zhang Hongfu led the cavalry to attack the Japanese pirates.

"Zhang Hongfu, your son is good. He is worthy of being a general. Wu Dong and Wei Wencai are also good. Why do you bring the youngest with you when you go to war in Jiujiang Guard?"

Chen Hong knew that the last few people who rushed to the battle were all young generals of Jiujiangwei. Fortunately, Wu Dong and Wei Wencai were both serving military officers. Zhang Hongfu and Wei Guangde were neither.

"Hongfu went to gain knowledge with his uncle, and Guangde wanted to see what the Japanese pirates are like. To tell the truth, my nephew Wei Guangde just passed the provincial examination this year, and he will go to Beijing with his classmates and friends next month. Take the exam next year.

If he is lucky enough to be on the list, he is also taking a test in the palace of gambling, and whether the emperor will come up with a question depends on the strategy of Pingwa. "

Zhang Shigui explained carefully.

"Oh, he's still a juren, not bad, not bad, he is worthy of being born in the guard, now he can hold a pen when he gets off a horse, and he can fight a war when he gets on a horse."

Chen Hong still had the same superficial smile, and then he thought about it and said: "I see that although these military newspapers have written about the process of this battle, they are not detailed. You can go back tonight and write a report for tomorrow morning. sent by someone."

"Yes."

Zhang Shigui could only nod his head.

When they came down, Zhang Shigui met Wei Guogong Xu Pengju and talked about what Chen Hong wanted him to write.

"It doesn't matter, Jingli just wants to know the strength of this group of Japanese pirates. You know how to write. As for those little ones, they are not ready to go to the battlefield, so they cannot be transferred to the coastal guards."

Indeed, if the Japanese pirates who fled to dozens of prefectures and counties in the two provinces were all mobs, then the Jiangnan officialdom would really lose face.

So far, the Japanese pirates' invasion of Nanjing, which caused a sensation in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty, came to an end. It ended with the resignation of Zhang Shiche, Minister of the Ministry of War of Nanjing, Chen Zhu, Minister of the Ministry of War, Zhu Yue, Marquis of Funing, and Guo Fang, the eunuch.

As for the reward, it can only be decided after the discussion of the important ministers in Beijing, and then they will go to the emperor, but at this time, they are all celebrating the birth of the emperor's first grandson.

In October Renxu of the 34th year of Jiajing, the first son of King Yu was born.

The Ministry of Rites asked Yujiaomiao Sheji to order the world to order civil and military officials to congratulate him, and said: "How can we not wait for the ceremony of the Taisun?"The emperor ordered the first official to report: Xuanji Palace and Fengxian Palace.The ministers don't need to congratulate, it's pointless to issue an imperial edict.Xun ordered Zhu Xi, the Duke of Chengguo, to advise the Xuanji Palace, and the captain-in-law, Xie Zhao, to tell the Fengxian Palace.

(End of this chapter)