I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 396 Return within a time limit!

After handing over the rations at the Zhenwu Army Camp, Hong Chengchou observed the Zhenwu Army Camp for a while, and then entered Guiyang City with Qin Yiming.

When they entered through the south gate, they felt that the city was far less lively than outside the city.

Although there are merchants and shops open, there are very few pedestrians coming and going, many of them are soldiers in military uniforms.

"What the Councilor doesn't know is that the west and east of Guiyang City are the territory of the Shuixi An clan and the Shuidong Song clan. There are respectively the administrative offices of the Xuanwei Division in Shuidong and Shuixi. On weekdays, the heads of the two families are in Guiyang. He works and does not go back to the clinic on weekdays.

The north of Guiyang City is where the imperial court is located, where the Chief Secretary, the Yamen of Zhetai, etc. all work. The south of the city is only the business residence of the people, so it is a bit prosperous.

On normal days, Guiyang City is one of the most prosperous places in Guizhou. Businessmen gather in the city, making it very lively.

But since An Bangyan's rebellion, An Bangyan and his commander An Wei no longer dared to stay in the city. Instead, they went back to the water and hid in the west. The same was true for the Song family.In addition, the governor was afraid of being rebelled, so he controlled Guiyang very tightly, and there were many fewer people in the city. "

After hearing Qin Yiming's explanation, Hong Chengchou nodded secretly. Now he felt more and more the importance of this battle.

If the imperial court can successfully win, then it will be necessary to fully implement the reform of native land and return to local people in Guizhou. If it fails to win, the consequences will be really disastrous.

The two of them were chatting and walking when suddenly two clerks from the Chief Secretary's Yamen came over to greet them. They said that Governor Zhu was questioning the adults about the envoy sent by An Bangyan and asked Hong Chengchou and Hong Chengchou to go directly to the Chief Secretary's Yamen. neglect.

After hearing this, the two men immediately quickened their pace and soon arrived at the Chief Secretary's Yamen. As soon as they entered the Yamen, they heard bursts of yelling suddenly coming from the main hall.

"Time? The imperial court thought that the Shuixi An family had guarded Shuixi for the imperial court for many years, so it gave him opportunities many times. It's just that Anbangyan was ambitious. Not only did he not express his apology, he also secretly united with the chieftains below to step up the production of weapons and train soldiers. Do you think we are Blind?
Go back and tell An Bangyan that he will come to Guiyang to apologize within half a month. Your Majesty has the virtue of a good life. As long as he is sincere, he will be given a lighter sentence. Otherwise, if the heavenly soldiers gather, the century-old foundation of the Shuixi An family will be destroyed. "

Hong Chengchou and the two quietly walked into the main hall and saw that the whole hall was filled with civil and military officials wearing animal robes. They all looked seriously at the Shuixi messenger kneeling on the floor of the main hall.

Thanks to Qin Yiming's presence, Hong Chengchou quickly knew who was among them, otherwise he would have been blind.

The person who just spoke was none other than Zhu Xieyuan, the governor of the five provinces. On his left sat the governor of Guizhou, Wang Sanshan, and next to him sat Jiang Lin, the commander-in-chief of the Zhenwu Army, Yang Yumao, the commander-in-chief of Guizhou, Qin Liangyu, the envoy of Shizhu Xuanwei, and others.

"I would like to report to the Governor, it's not that our commanders and colleagues don't want to, but that we really don't dare. Now a large army has gathered near Shuixi. People in Shuixi City are panicking. They say that the imperial court will wipe out the Shuixi'an clan this time, otherwise they will not give up.

Therefore, in the name of Tongzhi Feng'an, Xiao Feng requested the imperial court to withdraw its troops. As soon as the imperial army withdrew its troops, he promised to go to Guiyang, bear a thorn and plead guilty, and wait for the imperial court's decision. "

As soon as these words came out, everyone present laughed, and Zhu Xieyuan's face changed slightly, showing displeasure.

"I really don't want to listen to you. I haven't given An Bangyan enough time. It's already been four months. Not only does he not repent, but he is still here with me. He is really arrogant." , really thought that Shuixi could resist the imperial army.

Come on, get this guy away. As I said just now, the time limit is half a month. There are no predictions. "

As soon as he finished speaking, two soldiers came in immediately outside the door and dragged the envoy out without saying a word.

When the messenger saw this, he immediately panicked and shouted:
"My Lord Governor, the Shuixi'an family has been respectful to the imperial court for generations, but the court knows how well the Shuixi'an family is known. Whenever a consolation envoy comes to the throne, Han officials will ask for gold, ranging from a hundred taels to a thousand taels. If not, they will be treated lightly. Then he cursed loudly, and at worst, he shied away wantonly and was in a dilemma.

How can we trust the imperial court? We ask the Governor to take a closer look. As long as we withdraw our troops, An Tongzhi will definitely bear the thorn and plead guilty. "

Hong Chengchou on the side shook his head and watched the heart-wrenching messenger being dragged outside, and his voice became quieter.

He secretly wondered how the Shuixi'an clan could be so arrogant. On such an occasion, he dared to say something bad about the imperial court. Didn't this arouse the indignation of everyone present?

"Hmph! Death without repentance is not a pity. Governor, I don't think we need to wait for half a month. We can just go straight to Huanglong. Waiting like this will make An Bangyan look down on us."

At this time, Yang Yumao, the commander-in-chief of Guizhou Province, became angry when he heard the envoy talking such nonsense. He immediately stood up and challenged Zhu Xieyuan to fight.

"That's right, the sincerity of the imperial court is full. I think this An Bangyan will not shed tears until he sees the coffin. He is really looking down on us. I also ask the governor to send troops quickly."

Upon seeing this, other generals present also angrily rebuked An Bangyan, feeling that he was too rude, but Zhu Xieyuan did not care about these words, and instead said slowly:
"Has the Shuidong Song family's envoy arrived?"

Upon hearing Zhu Xieyuan's inquiry, Guizhou Governor Wang Sanshan, who was sitting next to him, stroked his beard and said:

"He didn't come. It seems he is determined to follow An."

Zhu Xieyuan chuckled when he heard this, and was not surprised by Shuidong Song's reaction.

"That's just right, we'll have surgery on them in half a month." Seeing Zhu Xieyuan's plan, everyone stopped talking, and after discussing for a while, they all left.

After seeing everyone leave, Zhu Xieyuan noticed Hong Chengchou and said with a smile:

"You must be Hong Chengchou. I was busy with something just now, so I didn't talk to you when I saw you coming in."

When Hong Chengchou saw Zhu Xieyuan explaining to him with a smile, he thought to himself how dare he take it, and immediately handed over his hand and said:

"The Governor has a lot of things to do every day, and the humble matters of his duties will not interfere with him."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xieyuan stroked his beard and motioned for him to take a seat. At this time, the boy outside the door saw this and also brought tea for the two of them.

"When marching and fighting, food and grass are the most important thing. Now the army is gathering, there are 5000 soldiers and horses in Guiyang alone, Zunyi Prefecture and the deputy general of Yansui Town lead more than [-] people, and Yongning Guards General Qin Minping leads Bai Bai There are [-] Gan soldiers and previously surrendered soldiers stationed in Yongning, and there are more than [-] Yunnan chieftain soldiers in the south.

In addition, there are guard troops stationed across Guizhou, with nearly [-] people in front and behind.Among them, the allocation of grain and grass and the distribution of military pay are extremely complicated, and there must be no mistakes. Otherwise, the morale of the soldiers will plummet and the battle will be ineffective, which will be troublesome. "

As soon as Hong Chengchou heard this, he knew that Zhu Xieyuan was giving him a hint. He also knew the importance of logistics and food, so he naturally did not dare to neglect it.

"Please rest assured, Lord Governor, since the imperial court appointed me to be responsible for logistics and military affairs, Chengchou will not dare to live up to the imperial court's trust. As long as I am here, I will ensure that the food and grass are in good condition."

Seeing Hong Chengchou being so righteous, Zhu Xieyuan also nodded slightly.

The reason why he mentioned Hong Chengchou today was because he hoped that Hong Chengchou would not be contemptuous.He had received a letter from Bi Ziyan a few days ago, in which he greatly praised Hong Chengchou. He also said that his Majesty attached great importance to Hong Chengchou and hoped that Zhu Xieyuan could use him with confidence.

But he is also a cautious person. The more this happens, the less he dares to use it. He is afraid that Hong Chengchou has a good eye but a weak hand and is proud of his heart. If he makes a mistake, he will be in trouble, so he gives a warning as a warning.

"Well, the grain and grass here in Guiyang is better. The grain and grass from the five southwest provinces are concentrated in Guiyang. 30 stones of grain and grass have just been shipped. It is not a problem that we can still supply it for four months. Now the main thing is that the guest troops from all over the country must ensure that Their grain and grass are distributed on time, especially to the Yunnan guest army."

Hearing Zhu Xieyuan's special instructions, Hong Chengchou was also a little confused as to why he wanted to take special care of the Yunnan guest army.

Seeing the doubtful look on Hong Chengchou's face, Zhu Xieyuan ignored him and replied slowly:
"There are also chieftains in Yunnan. Shen Jingjie, the governor of Yunnan, wrote to me before, saying that the situation in Yunnan is not very stable. There are many local chieftains and they have different thoughts about the court.

Now that I heard that She Chongming was deposed and that An Bangyan was going to be surrounded and suppressed, people there were now excited. The chieftains of Yunnan, who were located at the junction of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou, were also secretly connected with An Bangyan.

Therefore, there is no room for failure in this battle, and the chieftain soldiers sent as reinforcements from Yunnan must also settle down. If they become resentful of the court because of the food and salary issue, I am afraid they will be in trouble. "

Zhu Xieyuan was also thinking as he spoke. He had also written to the emperor to explain this matter before.

The emperor's attitude was very clear, that is, while the army was gathering, he must use thunderous means to suppress An Bangyan and alert the surrounding chieftains.

He also specifically told himself to be careful of Yunnan chieftains, and if possible, deal with those Yunnan chieftains who colluded with An Bangyan.

Although the emperor's plan was difficult to implement, Zhu Xieyuan also had the idea of ​​​​accomplishing the victory in one battle for the sake of stability in the southwest.

But he knew very well that the meal was eaten one bite at a time, and the most important thing was An Bangyan. As long as he could calm down, everything would be easy.

As for the Yunnan chieftain, it is better to calm down for the time being and wait until An Bangyan has finished dealing with everything.

Hong Chengchou on the side knew what Zhu Xieyuan was thinking when he heard the words "Yunnan Chieftain".

It seems that he is afraid that the chieftain of Yunnan will collude with An Bangyan, so the current policy is still based on generous pay, so that he will not be dissatisfied with the court because of food and salary matters.

"My subordinate understands."

Seeing that Hong Chengchou understood the situation immediately, Zhu Xieyuan said nothing more, and then told him the details of the tax and food arrears, and asked Hong Chengchou to step down and go on errands.

Hong Chengchou was also a smart man. When he saw what Zhu Xieyuan said, he immediately wanted to get things done.

So he left the main hall, and after saying goodbye to Qin Yiming, he refused the secretary's request to send him back to his residence, and instead asked him to take him to the Department of Finance and Taxation. He wanted to count the account books and know the grain, grass and silver.

(End of this chapter)