Chongzhen Sunset Song

Chapter 92

?one

"Qing is not afraid of hard work and volunteered to go to Xiangyang to supervise the teacher. I am very relieved."

In the Hall of Martial Ying, Chongzhen looked directly at Yang Sichang peacefully, with slight approval in his eyes.Chen Xinjia's strategy really worked. As soon as the news spread, the rumors of impeachment against Yang Sichang were indeed reduced, and the emperor's indifferent attitude these days seems to have eased a little.

"Sharing worries for the country is a matter of the minister's duty. How can we talk about hard work?" Yang Sichang lowered his head and said respectfully, "Your Majesty will not hold the minister accountable for his ineffective promotion of talents, but is still willing to give him a heavy responsibility. How dare I not exhaust my heart Do your best to repay His Majesty's trust."

"Ai Qing is serious." Chongzhen smiled lightly, which was a response, "Qing Xin went to Xiangyang to take up the post. I think it will be a lot of inconvenience. If you have any requests, just ask."

"Thank you for your majesty's concern on my behalf." Yang Sichang leaned forward, "due to the extortion of bribes, many officials in Xiangyang have been absent. I request to bring some capable ministers with me to fill the vacancies. I wonder if your majesty will agree."

"You see who is available, just take it with you." Chongzhen readily agreed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yang Sichang thanked him, paused, and said, "Although Zuo Liangyu was defeated in this battle, he has the talent of a general and should be reused. I suggest that he be given the title of General Ping Bandit. To show encouragement and urge them to defeat the bandit army again."

"Hmm...that makes sense." Chongzhen pondered for a while, but he had no objection, "You can choose a day to deal with this matter."

"Yes." Yang Sichang lowered his head, his brows and eyes looked very meek, "Besides these two things, I have no other request. If Your Majesty has nothing to do, I will leave first."

"Wait a minute." Chongzhen straightened his body and said seriously, "There is something I need to ask Aiqing to know."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"The strategy to suppress the bandits is to appease or suppress. I entrust the full power to Qing. Qing can act according to the situation, except for one thing." Chongzhen narrowed his eyes, and there was a trace of coldness on his face, "Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, two thieves, disturbed Zuling, caressing and rebelling, this time we must not be forgiven lightly, if we get the chance, we must wipe them out, do you understand?"

"I would like to obey His Majesty's will." Yang Sichang bowed.

"Well, good." Chongzhen nodded, then calmed down, twisted a piece of thin paper from the case, and signaled Xizhao to hand it over to Yang Sichang.Yang Sichang took the thin paper, only to see a few numbers on the paper written in a smooth and smooth manner, and the brush strokes are flying white. At first glance, it should be a short poem.

"Come and listen, Qing." With a slight smile in his eyes, Chongzhen relaxed his body and leaned on the back of the chair.

"Yes..." Yang Sichang cleared his throat and read aloud:

Yanmei is temporarily used as Gancheng, and the admiral will majestic Xiliu camp.

After sweeping away the atmosphere of Kou, the atmosphere is calm, and the people's livelihood is repaid for education.

While reading, Yang Sichang's hands trembled slightly, and when his eyes moved to the words "Gift to the supervisor and assistant minister Sichang", he was even more moved and almost cried.After listening to the case, Chongzhen said in a gentle voice, his tone was rarely soft when facing courtiers:

"Auxiliary ministers go out to supervise teachers. It is rare in the past and present. I write the numbers today as a gift from you. I hope you will succeed immediately and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop. I am waiting in the capital for the day when you return triumphantly."

"Thank you...Your Majesty..." Yang Sichang knelt down on his knees, carefully held the thin paper that was as heavy as a thousand pieces of gold, and kowtowed deeply. He said "Thank you Your Majesty" in a trembling voice. Xie, who is like cold water, is very different, which made Xizhao beside the dragon chair feel a little bit emotional.Yang Sichang has been in the court for many years, and whenever he entered the palace to see him, the sunset was always by his side.From Xizhao's point of view, Yang Sichang's heart is more or less warm and benevolent. His every move, every word and every smile, more or less reveals rational and meticulous calculations, and he has never expressed his true feelings like today .Perhaps it was this rare and great gift that touched Yang Sichang's calculated sincerity, and aroused his long-suppressed enthusiasm; or perhaps it was at a time when his status was in danger, this song implied that the emperor's holy family would not diminish. His short poem finally made his heart fall to the ground, so that he subconsciously let go of his usual caution and vigilance.And the emperor has always been introverted and restrained when facing his courtiers, calm and reticent, rarely as earnest and earnest as he is today.Could it be that even though Yang Sichang was burdened with many doubts, the emperor still placed high hopes on his talent?Or are those suspicions not that important to the emperor at all, just because he took the initiative to invite Ying this time, is it enough to write them off?Or maybe this eagerness is just an illusion, the emperor just used this method to put more pressure on the new supervisor for the success of his plan to suppress the bandits... Rao Xizhao speculated about all kinds of possibilities, but faced with this In the extremely harmonious scene where the emperor is kind and courteous, he really can't tell which possibility is the closest to the hidden truth that only exists in the hearts of the emperor and Yang Sichang.

two

Despite the great expectations of the emperor, after Yang Sichang went to Xiangyang, the progress of suppressing bandits was not as smooth as expected.Zhang Xianzhong, taking advantage of the reorganization of the army, has entered the border of Shaanxi and Sichuan, and seems to be preparing to enter Sichuan for development.The officers and soldiers pursued and intercepted them, but failed again and again. Huguang Governor Fang Kongzhang led his troops to pursue and suppress them, but was defeated until the entire army was wiped out. The successive defeats gave the new governor Yang Sichang a solid blow.Yang Sichang had never had the experience of supervising the army in the field, and he was helpless in this situation, so he urgently recruited Zuo Liangyu, his most promising general, to come to the Governor's Mansion to discuss matters.

Zuo Liangyu has been fighting abroad and rarely returns to Beijing.This time when he came to Xiangyang in person, Yang Sichang really met the rumored fierce general.Zuo Liangyu's person is very different from his refined and elegant name. He walks vigorously and speaks like a bell. Compared with the rumors, he is more powerful than the rumors; Pai was not modest, his words and demeanor were unreasonable, and his rudeness was far beyond Yang Sichang's expectations.After arriving at the Governor's Mansion, Zuo Liangyu saluted hastily, then sat on the chair and said in a rough voice, "What's the matter for your lord to call you down?"

Seeing him acting like this, Yang Sichang twitched his face, he managed to calm down, and asked the boy to hand over a document to Zuo Liangyu. "This is the latest battle report, general, please have a look..."

"Why did your lord tell me to read this!" Before Yang Sichang finished speaking, Zuo Liangyu pushed away the document and said in a loud voice, "I don't know how to read and understand this spider crawling. If you have something to do, just say it!"

"..." Yang Sichang was taken aback for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, and frowned—what a reckless general, he is actually illiterate!No wonder it was so rude.He took back the document from the servant, feeling a little displeased.But thinking about it carefully, the illiterate General Cao Mang has made so many achievements in battle, it should be because of his superiority.Thinking about this, Yang Sichang smiled again, comforting Zuo Liangyu and said:

"I didn't know beforehand, so don't blame the general." As he said that, he sent the servant down to pour tea, and then said, "Since that's the case, it doesn't matter if you don't read the battle report. In short, the general must be clear about the battle situation."

"That's natural." Zuo Liangyu was not polite, "I'll tell my lord that I'm here, and I have something to discuss with you."

"Oh? What is the general doing?"

Zuo Liangyu leaned forward, straightened his face, and said: "Your Majesty said at the swearing-in meeting when he first arrived in Xiangyang that His Majesty meant to do his best to suppress Zhang Xianzhong and not to soothe him anymore. My lord, send your subordinates to lead the troops from Hanyang directly into Shu, and go around to the front of the bandits to stop them, and you will definitely win a big victory."

The servant brought tea, and placed a cup next to Yang Sichang and Zuo Liangyu's hands.Yang Sichang sipped his tea, thought for a long time calmly, then nodded, and said slowly: "Well... what the general said is reasonable, but you can send He Renlong to lead a team to intercept it. The general should stay in Xiangyang first. Nearby, in case Zhang Xianzhong pretends to enter Shu, he still intends to go to Huguang."

"How can a single team stop him?!" Zuo Liangyu's voice immediately rose an octave when he heard this, making Yang Sichang's ears ringing. Every day we grow stronger, no matter how big or small each battle is, we must not be sloppy, and only divide a team to intercept it, my lord is too childish!"

Zuo Liangyu's words were straightforward, with no regard for affection, no matter how patient Yang Sichang was, he couldn't help but burst into flames.His face turned cold, he managed to suppress his anger, and patiently explained: "Although what the general said is reasonable, Zhang Xianzhong may not really be willing to enter Shu because he has been entrenched in the Central Plains for a long time. It is possible that he will either return to Huguang or divert to Shaanxi The general is the main force of our army. If all the rogues enter Shu to intercept them, what should we do? According to my opinion, we should send others to lead troops into Shu to intercept the enemy. However, the main force in Xiangyang still needs to guard the key point here, and then transfer the Shaanxi army to guard the road of the rogues entering Shaanxi, which is the right way to encircle and suppress."

"Your Excellency's deployment seems to be perfect, but this time Huguang and Shaanxi have been surrounded by heavy troops, and the only way to stop the weaker team is to enter Shu. Isn't this the way out and force them to Shu!" Zuo Liangyu said. Regardless of Yang Sichang's expression, he hurriedly said, "What the rogues lack most now is military pay. Huguang and Shaanxi have no food to plunder. If they don't enter Shu, where can they go? Shu is rich, if they are allowed to enter Shu , Just like putting a fish into the water, the consequences will be unimaginable! Moreover, the subordinate officials are leading the main force to suppress troops. If they only defend and do not fight, when will Zhang Xianzhong be destroyed? For today's plan, we should be surprised and use offense instead of defense. Heavy damage is the way to defend against the enemy!"

"But if the main force is gone and Xiangyang is empty, so what if Zhang Xianzhong really returns!"

"That's better than letting him into Sichuan!"

Yang Sichang pursed his lips, pressed his eyebrows, and suddenly stopped speaking, only his face became colder.The proposition is clear, but no one can convince anyone, and it is meaningless to continue arguing like this.What's more, in the face of this half-life and experienced general, even if he is just an illiterate reckless, Yang Sichang, who has always been talking about war on paper, really lacks confidence in secret.He picked up the teacup and took another sip, put it down steadily, and then raised his eyes, a strange smile inadvertently appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he spoke calmly, but it seemed that there was something in his words: "General Zuo is so impassioned, I think there must be some reason for that." The victory is certain. If that is the case, let's act according to the general's plan. His majesty will soon issue a decree to confer the title on the general, the general must be careful not to disappoint his majesty's expectations."

Zuo Liangyu was startled suddenly.Even if he is a rough person, he can vaguely feel that Yang Sichang's words are not kind.But just for a moment, Zuo Liangyu showed his expression, smiled coldly, stood up and saluted with fists, without showing any weakness in his words. "Winning or losing is the responsibility of the lower officials. Since your lord has agreed, the lower officials are ready to leave immediately." After speaking, he turned his head and strode away from the governor's mansion.