Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1317 Happy Event
Cao Wenzhao never expected that such a huge windfall would suddenly fall into his lap. When Wang Jinwu found Cao Wenzhao after leaving the palace and privately told him to prepare for being sent to a post outside the capital, Cao Wenzhao was stunned and could hardly believe his ears.

In the Ming Dynasty army, Cao Wenzhao was a fierce general. Whether he served as a general in Liaodong or was later transferred by Emperor Chongzhen to the northwest to suppress bandits, Cao Wenzhao was quite famous.

Cao Wenzhao was especially renowned for his role in suppressing bandits. He once achieved the feat of defeating tens of thousands of bandits with only eight hundred cavalry. Moreover, his army was extremely bloodthirsty and fierce in battle, causing great suffering to Gao Yingxiang and others. He was even called "King Yama Cao" by the bandits.

In the campaigns to quell the bandits, Cao Wenzhao fought against them multiple times in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan, achieving remarkable military exploits. He also played a pivotal role in the court's subsequent comprehensive strategy to suppress the bandits. For these achievements, Cao Wenzhao rose from a guerrilla general to deputy commander-in-chief, then to commander-in-chief. After the Ming Dynasty's military reforms, he was appointed General of the Cavalry, entering the ranks of high-ranking military officers.

Afterwards, Cao Wenzhao was transferred from the local area to the capital and directly entered the General Council. His position in the General Council was not low, second only to Wang Jinwu and Wu Xiang. When the Ming Dynasty made full preparations and began the war against Liaodong, Cao Wenzhao once again led troops into battle, with Wang Jinwu as the commander-in-chief, and made great contributions in this battle.

After the Liaodong campaign ended, Cao Wenzhao was promoted to General of the Golden Guard for his meritorious service, placing him among the top generals of the Ming Dynasty. He was also rewarded with the title of First-Class Earl for his contributions in the Battle of Shenyang.

It can be said that the Battle of Liaodong was the most glorious moment in Cao Wenzhao's military career. Unfortunately, after this battle, Cao Wenzhao, like others, did not continue to lead troops. Instead, he handed over his military power and returned to the capital, where he continued to serve in the General Staff Office until now.

Despite his fiery temper and carefree manner, Cao Wenzhao was a meticulous man. He knew very well that the emperor both used and guarded against them, especially those generals from Liaodong military families.

The reputation of the Liaodong military families had never been good. Ever since Li Chengliang, they had harbored their own ambitions. Li Chengliang, for his own benefit, didn't hesitate to support bandits and consolidate his power, practically ruling Liaodong with absolute control. Unfortunately, despite his meticulous planning, Li Chengliang hadn't anticipated that Nurhaci, this old vassal, would be so tolerant and subservient, outwardly respectful but inwardly harboring rebellious intentions. Furthermore, the unexpected death of Li Chengliang's designated successor, Li Rusong, in battle in Mongolia left the aging Li Chengliang unable to control Nurhaci. Upon Li Chengliang's death, Nurhaci decisively launched a rebellion, thus triggering the Liaodong catastrophe.

It can be said that the real cause of the Later Jin's and later Qing Dynasty's troubles lay with Li Chengliang. It was Li Chengliang's act of nurturing bandits to enhance his own power that led to the beginning of the decay in Liaodong. After Li Chengliang's death, the prodigal sons of the Liaodong Li family, such as Li Rubai, were simply unable to support Li Chengliang's legacy. The Battle of Sarhu was the last disgrace suffered by the Liaodong Li family.

As a result, the military families in Liaodong changed. With the fall of the Li family, the various military families in Liaodong that had previously relied on Li Chengliang began to emerge, including the Zu family with Zu Dashou as its core, and the Wu family, which had a marriage alliance with the Zu family, and so on.

As for Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, Zuo Liangyu, and others, although they were not natives of Liaodong, they naturally all joined the Liaodong military clique after being transferred there. As time went by, a new group of Liaodong military leaders began to emerge. These people banded together, each wanting to become the next Li Chengliang, amassing military power, and constantly demanding benefits from the court by taking advantage of the threat from the Later Jin, thus cultivating their own influence. Over time, the situation in Liaodong became what it is today.

After Sun Chengzong became the military governor of Jiliao, he repeatedly reprimanded the military families in Liaodong and used strong methods and personal charisma to integrate the Liaodong army, barely managing to bring them under the control of the court. However, even so, Sun Chengzong was unable to completely resolve the problem of the military families in Liaodong.

Things got even worse after Yuan Chonghuan came to power. In order to win over the military families of Liaodong to his side, Yuan Chonghuan did not hesitate to sell grain and weapons to supply the enemy. He used a lot of gold and silver to buy off Zu Dashou and others, and recruited them as his henchmen. In order to gain more benefits, he also set his sights on Mao Wenlong's smuggling channels. After deceiving Chongzhen into letting him take on the concurrent post of Shandong governor, Yuan Chonghuan took action against Mao Wenlong, forged an imperial edict to kill Mao Wenlong, which caused the Ming army on Pi Island to collapse and ultimately led to his own downfall.

From these perspectives, the military families of Liaodong at that time were almost indistinguishable from regional warlords, differing only in the opportunity to truly rise to power and seize control. Historically, this was indeed the case. In the late Ming Dynasty, aside from Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui who defected to the enemy, most of the major regional warlords came from Liaodong military families. By the time of the Four Garrisons of Jiangbei, Zuo Liangyu, followed by Huang Degong and Liu Zeqing, comprised a large portion of them, demonstrating the strength of Liaodong military families in the army.

Such a military group would naturally make the emperor wary, especially since the current emperor is no ordinary emperor. This emperor, like the Yongle Emperor, came to power through a military coup, and he attaches more importance to the defense of the army than anyone else.

The emperor's strategy was to dismantle the powerful military families of Liaodong to prevent them from becoming a threat. Cao Wenzhao himself was well aware of this, and the emperor hadn't really done anything to them. He simply prevented them from directly commanding troops, but they still received their due official positions and benefits. Moreover, the powerful military families of Liaodong still existed, but they had gradually changed. With several reforms in the military system, new armies had gradually replaced the original border troops, and a new generation of generals had taken on important positions. For example, Wu Sangui was still serving in Liaodong.

However, Zu Dashou, like Wu Xiang, was transferred to the capital. Although he received a title and rewards, it was basically impossible for him to continue leading troops. This was not necessarily a bad thing for the Liaodong military families.

At least in all dynasties, only Emperor Taizu of Song's "releasing military power over a cup of wine" could achieve this. Moreover, placing them in the General Council was a proper arrangement. Whenever there was an opportunity to lead troops in the future, the emperor would still use them, as can be seen from the Liaodong War.

Unfortunately, with the gradual stabilization of the Ming Dynasty in recent years and the elimination of internal and external troubles, apart from the recently concluded Yunnan rebellion, there were virtually no wars in the Ming Dynasty. The possibility of generals like Cao Wenzhao continuing to lead troops was extremely low. Cao Wenzhao understood this situation. Although he lived a comfortable life in the capital, it was still somewhat monotonous for someone who had spent most of his life on the battlefield, and he always longed to one day lead troops back to the front lines. Cao Wenzhao knew that this wish was very slim, but he still couldn't let go of this obsession. Just when he thought he had no chance anymore, Wang Jinwu suddenly found him and told him that he was about to be transferred to lead troops elsewhere. Cao Wenzhao was stunned.

For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating. How could this be? After Wang Jinwu explained the situation to him in detail and said that the court would issue a formal appointment in the next two days, Cao Wenzhao realized that this was not a hallucination but a real phenomenon.

Coming to his senses, Cao Wenzhao hurriedly thanked Wang Jinwu for the recommendation. He knew very well that although Wang Jinwu had not told him who had recommended him, since Wang Jinwu had personally come to inform him of this matter, and considering Wang Jinwu's status in the court and his relationship with the emperor, there was no one else but Wang Jinwu.

After seeing Wang Jinwu off, Cao Wenzhao was overjoyed, pacing back and forth in the room, rubbing his hands together in delight. Having been idle for so long, he had finally gotten the chance to lead troops; how could he not be happy?
Although this time the troops were to be sent to Batavia, Cao Wenzhao didn't care where they went. In his view, as long as he had the opportunity to lead troops into battle, he was willing to go anywhere, even to the far-off New World, let alone Batavia. Moreover, according to Wang Jinwu, he was going to Batavia as governor, which was a very high position, making Cao Wenzhao even happier.

"I have to have a good drink today!" Cao Wenzhao thought to himself. After thinking about it, he suddenly realized that just having a few drinks might not be enough. He also needed to find some people to have some fun with.

But who should he turn to? Wu Xiang? Zuo Liangyu? Huang Degong? Zu Dashou? These names flashed through his mind, but Cao Wenzhao rejected them all. The emperor was already dissatisfied with the previous clique of the Liaodong generals, and in recent years he had broken them up and sent them to the General Staff Office. Moreover, although Wang Jinwu had just informed him, the official appointment had not yet been issued and everything could change. If they found out in advance, it would not only be a bad thing, but would also cause some trouble. In addition, Cao Wenzhao was naturally concerned about what the emperor would think if he found out about these things.

After much deliberation, Cao Wenzhao decided not to meet with these people, nor to tell them the news. However, there was one exception: Cao Wenzhao's nephew, Cao Bianjiao.

As uncle and nephew, they were known as the "Big and Little Caos" and held similar positions in the army. Moreover, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao had an excellent relationship, and since the nephew was not an outsider, inviting him to talk and share this happy event was a good choice. Furthermore, although Cao Bianjiao was Cao Wenzhao's nephew, Cao Bianjiao's military talent was no less than Cao Wenzhao's, and he was even better at strategy. Cao Wenzhao thought it was a reliable move to invite him to talk about this matter and discuss it.

So Cao Wenzhao hurriedly sent someone to invite Cao Bianjiao to his residence. Cao Bianjiao lived not far from Cao Wenzhao, and he arrived in less than half an hour.

Tall and with a face somewhat resembling Cao Wenzhao's, but much younger, Cao Bianjiao entered Cao Wenzhao's residence with practiced ease. Without needing a servant to announce his arrival, he went straight to the back hall. Upon entering, he saw Cao Wenzhao sitting in a chair, lost in thought, a smile on his face. It was unclear what joyous occasion had brought him to such a state.

"Uncle, did a magpie come to visit today? What joyous occasion has made you so happy?"

Upon hearing the sound, Cao Wenzhao snapped out of his daze, looked up and saw Cao Bianjiao walking in with a smile. He quickly got up, went forward, grabbed Cao Bianjiao's hand, and pulled him down to sit.

"Hehe, you're right, magpies have indeed come to our door today, it's a very happy occasion!"

"Oh, what good news?" Cao Bianjiao had only mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect Cao Wenzhao to answer like this, so he couldn't help but ask.

Cao Wenzhao was about to speak, but subconsciously glanced at the door, then lowered his voice and whispered something in Cao Bianjiao's ear. Hearing Cao Wenzhao's words, Cao Bianjiao's expression was initially normal, then something seemed off. He was first slightly stunned, then his mouth gradually opened wide, his expression showing surprise, and finally he couldn't help but ask Cao Wenzhao if it was true.

"Of course it's true!" Cao Wenzhao said with a hint of smugness, "Grand Secretary Wang told me himself, how could it be wrong! Hehe, this time I finally have my chance, hahaha! Hahaha!"

(End of this chapter)