Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 696 Knowledge
In front of the head.

Li Zisheng, Qin Chang and his entourage finally arrived with a large amount of military equipment, cloth and other supplies. However, the imperial edict for Li Zisheng to take office as Governor of Shanxi had not yet been delivered.

The defenders of Pianguan did not want to welcome such a group of people into the pass.

Just as many people in the court worried about, local military affairs involved the command of the army and the transmission of military orders, and Li Zisheng's decision to lead his troops to station in Pianguan was unreasonable and would involve many power conflicts.

Because the contact was not completed, Li Zisheng's troops could only temporarily station outside the pass that night.

A clerk was sent from the Pianguan Fortress to contact Li Zisheng and his party, emphasizing the issue of food supply...

Li Zisheng fought very vigorously in this battle, but because his troops only brought dry food with them, it was difficult for them to be self-sufficient. In addition, he also recruited Wang Fang's troops. The Datong soldiers did not want to bring their own dry food to fight, so Li Zisheng had to supply food and drink for this group of people.

In addition, the losses during the war were relatively large, and Lizi Province was short of military rations and could only enter Guancheng to purchase supplements.

But obviously Pianguan doesn't want to bear this expense.

You came here to deliver military supplies, and you fought a war for no apparent reason, and you still want us to provide you with food and drink? Many of our own soldiers are suffering.

"Where is the general? Why doesn't he come to see us?"

Tan Chang used his authority as a eunuch in the Imperial Household Department to scold the clerk.

Li Zisheng reminded in a low voice: "The general officer of Shanxi is not a permanent position. There is no general officer in Pianguan now."

Qin Chang was stunned for a moment, then he remembered that Li Zisheng was the uncrowned Minister of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty. It was obvious that he knew more about the official structure of the northwest than he did. As the prime minister, he could not understand many things.

This is also the reason why Emperor Chenghua quickly distanced himself from Tan Chang after Huai'en was exiled.

Because Qin Chang's abilities were far inferior to Huai'en's, he was not diligent enough and did not seek to fully understand things. Logically, he should have kept a record of all the officials in the world, and when the emperor mentioned someone, he should have introduced the situation as soon as possible. But in fact, he knew nothing about anything and always had to go back to check the information before giving an answer the next day.

Afterwards, Qin Changyi gave orders and shouted at the visitor before sending him back to prepare.

……

……

After everyone left, Qin Chang remembered to ask Li Zisheng about the matter of Pianguan.

"Minister Li, you have never been to Piantou Pass before, but you seem to be very familiar with the situation here?"

Qin Chang also found it incredible.

In the past, I only thought that Li Zisheng was a villain who could cover up everything and only knew how to sell official positions and titles.

After this trip, Qin Chang discovered that his understanding of Lizi Province was far from enough.

Li Zisheng said: "Let's talk about the general of Shanxi. Since Wang Xin stepped down in the 17th year of Chenghua, the court has never appointed another one. This is also because after Wang Yue won several battles, the Tatars did not dare to invade for a long time."

Qin Chang said, "You said before that the governor of Shanxi is in Taiyuan, but the general's office is in Pianguan. Now that the general is absent, who will take care of us? You can't let us be self-sufficient here and find someone to grow food for us in the spring, right?"

"hehe."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "The war could start at any time, Eunuch Tan is laughing."

Qin Chang seemed somewhat dissatisfied and said, "You are the Chief Censor, and you are responsible for leading the troops. You can't rely on me to show off my reputation in the northwest... You should think of a solution quickly! Otherwise, I will ask the capital for help. We need enough food and grass to have a chance of winning the war!"

……

……

Yajiao Mountain.

Duke Baoguo Zhu Yong personally led the troops of the Beijing camp and after a long journey, they finally entered the territory of Piantou Pass.

Zhu Yong held a telescope and stood on a high place and watched for a long time. It was sunset and there was no one in the city along the way. He felt a little more worried.

In the distance, a rider was coming in the dust. It turned out to be his son Zhu Hui riding a horse.

"Father."

Zhu Hui jumped off the horse. Zhu Hui was already over 40 years old at this time, and his body looked a little plump, as if he was not as strong as his father Zhu Yonglai, who was over 60 years old.

Zhu Yong saw his son gasping for breath when he dismounted and walked to his side. He frowned and said, "You haven't exercised much in the past two years. Has your horseback riding skills declined?"

Zhu Hui looked a little embarrassed, but he quickly reported what he had found to his old father: "...It is said that Taoist Priest Li led his troops to turn north from here and fight the Tatars at the pass...They neither waited for us nor said hello to us, which directly led to us missing the battle...Their troops should have entered Piantou Pass now."

Zhu Yong folded the reins and asked, "Are there any signs of Tatar activity nearby?"

As a new noble who was promoted to dukedom based on his military merits during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yong did not have the conservative mentality of ordinary meritorious officials. He was very experienced in commanding the army and could often see the essence through appearances.

There is a common problem among the meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty, that is, they generally lack ambition, and Zhu Yong is only slightly better than those people.

Zhu Hui said: "All the troops nearby were ordered to move towards Piantou Pass. Not many stayed behind. It is said that this was arranged by the Shanxi local government, not by Taoist Priest Li."

Zhu Yong nodded and said, "Although Taoist Li is the Chief Censor, he does not oversee the military and political affairs of Shanxi. After the war broke out, it is understandable to transfer troops from some of the less well-defended earthen forts and earthen forts back to the large fortresses. However, after such a great victory, he is in such a hurry to transfer troops. It seems like he is deliberately making mistakes to make people look bad."

"Father, what do you mean...?"

Zhu Hui looked puzzled.

Zhu Hui had followed his father in battles for many years, so he knew a little about war.

Zhu Hui knew little about what was happening outside the battlefield.

If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely not bother to explain further to Zhu Hui.

But the person in front of him is Zhu Hui’s old father after all.

Zhu Yong was afraid that the duke title he had obtained would not be passed on to his son's generation. After all, his former leaders Wang Zhi and Wang Yue had fallen, and he, Zhu Yong, had luckily escaped the blame. The duke title inherited by the lineage of Duke Baoguo was also considered unreasonable by many court officials.

You obtained the hereditary title of duke just by winning a few wars in relatively peaceful years. What would those dukes and marquises who founded the country and quelled the rebellion think?
Zhu Yong said: "When the Tatars invaded, the local troops could not and dared not withdraw. But now His Majesty has sent Taoist Li to Pianguan to command the army and recruit troops along the way. Don't you think the Shanxi generals will take the opportunity to transfer all their troops away? In this way, even if the court holds them accountable, they can put all the blame on Taoist Li..."

Zhu Hui still didn't seem to understand, and asked, "Will they use the name of Li Daochang's troop deployment as an excuse?"

Zhu Yong shook his head and said, "Whether Taoist Li has mobilized troops or not, we will know after checking. They just want to create a situation where military orders are blocked and the upper and lower levels are out of sync. The more chaotic the situation is, the more people will like to fish in troubled waters."

"Oh."

Zhu Hui seemed to understand, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "So what should we do now? Should we hurry to Pianguan, or... stay here and wait for the Tatars to arrive?"

Zhu Yong said: "Are you sure the Tatars dare to come?"

Zhu Hui said helplessly: "How can we be sure of this?"

Zhu Yong sighed, "Although we nominally obey the orders of Taoist Li, after all, I am the new commander-in-chief of Ningxia, and it is illegal to command troops in a remote place.

"Speaking of which, has no one in the court thought of this? We should quickly arrange for Taoist Li to a suitable position in Pianguan, so that everyone from top to bottom will shirk responsibility and fail to do practical work, which may directly lead to a victory and then a defeat in the war against the Tatars, and humiliate the prestige of the Ming Dynasty court."

"Father, do you mean that the court should arrange for Taoist Li to take up a post locally? Doesn't he... have to deliver military uniforms, cloth and other military supplies to the military towns in the northwest?"

Zhu Hui asked.

"Those are just excuses."

Zhu Yong said, "Your Majesty just ascended the throne and sent his trusted confidant, Taoist Li, to the northwest. Was it just to deliver some things? If it was just to escort the supplies, who else could he send? Taoist Li is also a capable person. He was powerful during the time of the previous emperor, and he still has the momentum today. Just looking at his ability to lead troops to resist foreign humiliation, he is not something that ordinary people can do."

Zhu Hui shook his head and said, "But in my opinion, that Taoist priest Li is just good at currying favor with others. Otherwise, how could he have gained military merit?"

Zhu Yong glanced at his son and said, "He knows how to adapt to the situation and who he can cling to. He seems eager for quick success, but he actually has hidden secrets. If you can learn one of his skills, you will be able to gain a stable life in the court. What a pity..."

Although the father and son did not explain it in detail.

But Zhu Yong kept the matter to himself.

He was thinking, if you want to stay in the court, you have to rely on currying favor with important people? Who can't do this? It seems that my father's knowledge of being a man and an official is just like this.

(End of this chapter)