The Great Seminary

Chapter 88: Vanguard of the King's Defence
The eunuch spoke in a vague manner, but Zhang Gui just smiled and said nothing.

Anyway, he went back to the mainland for a change of mood. He had nothing to do anyway, so he had plenty of time to play the "Riddler" game.

The two chatted for a long time.

Chu Tuantuan suddenly asked Zhang Gui:
"Commander Zhang, do you have any grudge against the Rong family of Shuanghu?"

Zhang Gui's heart moved. He wanted to pretend to be confused and test the waters a little, but when he saw Chu Tuantuan's serious expression, he thought for a moment and nodded slightly.
"I just gained power a few months ago, and I became a little arrogant and reckless.

When he returned home in glory, he was severely humiliated by a servant of the Rong family in front of distant relatives and neighbors.

As a result, he could not suppress his anger for a moment, and seized on the man's words "He is just an eighth-rank military officer, why don't you put him in the Shuanghu Rong family" as an excuse, and beat him into a pulp in the street.

At that time, our Ming Song had just gone to war with the Yuanshan Kingdom. The situation was special, so the Rong family swallowed their anger.

I originally thought that as long as the war situation remained unchanged, it would be fine.

What's more, to put it bluntly, the current situation is worse than it was at the beginning.

Although I hold a low position and am a local militia officer who is not worth mentioning, if I say it to others, I am still a military commander with a seal in hand.

To put it bluntly, the Rong family is making things difficult for me at this time because they are neglecting the overall situation because of trivial matters.

Even if ninety-nine percent of the dry cleaning is done on me, they will definitely not end up in good shape.

So I shouldn’t act rashly.”

"You are a very smart man, and your idea is quite right.

Man proposes, God disposes.

Your Majesty acted rashly and without reason, provoking a border conflict with the strongest country in Dongsheng for a mere one million pieces of fine cotton cloth.

Some people will be so angry that they will "ignore" the overall situation he wants to maintain.

Then they will count you as one of their accomplices and kill you without any reason."

Zhang Gui's eyes widened, and after pondering for a moment, he stood up and bowed solemnly to Chu Tuantuan, saying:
"Brother Tuantuan, your trip to Zhihai Village saved me from a great disaster.

I took it for granted before.

If your position is not high enough, you can't see far enough.

I feel that the situation in our Ming and Song dynasties was relatively peaceful, except for two or three disaster-stricken provinces in the north and occasional riots.

Now it seems that it is quite different from what I thought.”

Chu Tuantuan said in a low voice:
“The governor comes from a wealthy family after all, so even if he is the most worthless branch child, he can always be guaranteed food and clothing.

So I can’t imagine how cruel it is to shake the country to pieces with what I call ‘two or three provinces in the north are in trouble and rebellions occur from time to time’!

"I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing.

If a country cannot survive if even one citizen who is willing to work hard and support his family cannot survive, the country cannot and should not be stable."

“Your words are so pleasant to the ear, and even though people know they are fake, they still feel comfortable.

But you thanked me too early just now.

I am in the Longmen Port Bureau. As long as I pay attention, I can hear a lot of information.

But I have no power or influence to change anything.”

Zhang Gui said seriously: "This is enough.

Planning is like fighting a war.

The sooner you know your opponent's actions, the easier it will be to resolve them.

What's more, from the information you told me, I can analyze many other things,

By taking advantage of the situation, it is possible to turn danger into safety or even turn disaster into fortune."

Chu Tuantuan didn't ask Zhang Gui how he planned to deal with the crisis.

He also did not specify the circumstances of the case in which the Shuanghu Rong family intended to implicate him and put him to death.

After chatting for a while, he left.

That evening, the eighth-rank bandit-suppressing lieutenant of Siyang Commandery, Eastern Yuehai Province,

Zhang Gui, the commander-in-chief of military and civil affairs of Zhihai Village, led more than 400 soldiers and sailed two 100-ton warships along the sea route.

They anchored near Jinmen, the largest city closest to the capital, and requested the king's help.
Tianjin Prefecture is known as the "second largest prefecture in the Ming and Song dynasties."

It is only a hundred miles away from Yanjing, known as the "best place", and is connected by a national highway.

An ordinary person can ride a horse back and forth in a day.

As June approaches, the weather becomes increasingly hot.

The five-courtyard residence of the Tianjin prefect is spacious and elegant, comparable to the palace of a prince.

The prefect, Zhao Yueban, was in the main study, soaking his wet and sore feet in a brass basin.

Wiping his fat body with a cool towel.

He smiled and curled his lips towards his most trusted mentor Sun Duo and said:

"It is true that 'the smaller the temple, the stronger the evil spirits; the shallower the pond, the more turtles there are'.

I have an interesting story for you to see.

Look at what this statement says."

"A letter of request for battle, what kind of beginning is this? Why are the words dark red?" Sun Duo put down the cold tea in his hand, picked up the proposal, took a look at it, and muttered in surprise.

Continuing to read, I found out that it was a militia from a small border village, writing a letter in blood hoping to serve the king.

After reading the proposal, he opened his eyes wide in astonishment and raised his head.
"There are generals who have written letters to the king to support him, but what's the point of writing in blood?"

Zhao Yue half smiled and said:
"That's why I say, 'The stronger the evil wind, the more turtles there are.'

The three major "military families" in the imperial court petitioned to support the king, but they also needed a reply from the emperor before they could start their army.
He came all the way from Siyang County in East Yuehai Province to our Tianjin.

He even submitted a blood-written letter of request for war to our yamen. What a piece of crap.

If you want to flatter the emperor without knowing the rules, and you hit the horse's leg, you'll probably lose your head."

Sun Duo blinked his eyes when he heard this, and suddenly said:

"Sir, that may not be the case."

Although the military towns of the Ming and Song dynasties were small, they were well-placed and could not be moved at all without the order of the Ministry of War.

Regardless of whether he is the chief of a small military town;

The Thousand Generals Head who governs the seven great stars and is stationed at the Thousand Generals' Office;
He was in charge of the "Head of Ten Thousand Generals" of the "Yamen of Ten Thousand Generals", which consisted of seven thousand generals. Without the order of the Ministry of War, anyone who left the Yamen a hundred miles away would be executed immediately.

But this is not necessary for the militia.

As a local armed force with weak combat effectiveness, its original purpose was to facilitate the suppression of bandits.

Is it possible to attack a group of dozens of bandits in a remote area and report it to the Ministry of War, and then ask the current emperor to decide whether to send troops? This is simply unrealistic.

Therefore, the jurisdiction over the militia troops is that as long as the scope of the troops does not invade "other territories", they can act at their own discretion.

As for the "Zhihaizhai" militia sailors, theoretically, as long as they stayed at sea, they would not be considered to have invaded "other territory".

Then he would write a letter to the civil servant in the administrative office who was closest to him and had the right to write directly to the emperor, expressing his request to fight to the death for his country.

It's quite reasonable.

Of course, if the naval general with a large number of troops did the same thing, even if he mobilized militia troops, he would inevitably be in great trouble.

But a mere eighth-rank captain of the anti-bandit department, with less than 500 militiamen, was going to Yanjing, which was not even close to the sea, to support the king.

Even if he had a grudge against Zhang Gui for killing his father, it could not be said that he intended to use the name of serving the king to do something bad.

What's more, even if someone wants to confuse right and wrong, they will shamelessly frame Zhang Gui.

It can be said that more than 400 regiment sailors can threaten the security of the capital, which in itself is a huge insult to the Ming and Song dynasties.

Especially in the current situation where the country has lost the war, it is simply courting death.

(End of this chapter)