Chapter 532 The Troubled Shi Kefa

Shi Kefa has been in a very tangled mood recently.

At this moment, he was leaving Yizhou in Yanzhou Prefecture and heading towards Andongwei in Qingzhou Prefecture. He had just escorted the heads of 3,999 Tartars back to the capital. Before he had time to rest, he was sent out by the court. From a certain perspective, he has now become a bridge of communication between the court and Zhang Zhun.

This time, he followed the orders of the court to cause trouble for Zhang Zhun. Zhang Zhun led his troops into Andongwei without authorization, supported Andongwei's rebellion, killed Shandong general Ni Chong, and frightened the housekeeper of Prince Lu's mansion. This caused a great shock to Shandong and a great shock to the capital. As long as the name Zhang Zhun is mentioned, all the officials of the court will feel mixed feelings and have all the feelings.

The memorials of Li Maofang, the governor of Yanzhou Prefecture, and the memorials of Yang Yipeng, the governor of the grain transportation, were first sent to the capital. Then came, and the complaint letter from the Prince of Lu's Mansion. After receiving the memorials of Li Maofang and Yang Yipeng, the chief assistant of the cabinet, Wen Tiren, was immediately overwhelmed.

The Tartars in the Northeast and the Shaanxi riots in the Central Plains have already made the court full of holes and exhausted. Wen Tiren, as the chief minister of the cabinet, has also begun to retreat in the face of increasingly broken situations. Now he has deeply felt that the throne of the chief minister of the cabinet is really difficult to do. After being overwhelmed by so many things, he is a little envious of Zhou Yanru who was driven away by him. At least, Zhou Yanru now doesn't have to worry about the Tartars, the riots, and Zhang Zhun.

However, for the time being, the capital is still safe. The taste of power is definitely a marrow-eating taste, like a maggot that possesses bones. No one is willing to give up the power in his hands. Therefore, Wen Tiren planned to do more years and then retire safely. Unexpectedly, it was in these last few years that so many things were made. In addition to the Tartars and the rioters, there was another Zhang Zhun, which made him feel very troubled.

Wen Tiren was unimaginable. If the relevant memorials were met by the emperor, what would happen if they were to the emperor? Emperor Chongzhen was in a bad mood recently. The financial situation of the court was getting worse and worse. Although the taxes in October had not been collected, according to preliminary estimates, the national taxes would definitely not exceed two million taels. Many places in Henan and southern Zhili were destroyed by the Shaanxi army, and a large amount of grain harvest was absent.

Emperor Chongzhen was so worried about money and food that his hair was so white. There was a rumor that in the past month, Emperor Chongzhen had not even favored a concubine. For the emperor who was only twenty-five years old, how much psychological pressure would he have to bear to be without any lust for men and women! If at this time, God knows what Emperor Chongzhen would react?

However, Wen Tiren could not hide such a big thing. Moreover, the complaint letters from the Prince Lu's Mansion were sent directly to the palace and directly to Empress Yi'an and Empress Zhou, and he could not stop him at all. Both Empress Yi'an and Empress Zhou attached great importance to the Prince Lu's Mansion. If the complaint letters from the Prince Lu's Mansion were asked to let Chongzhen know the first, he would be even more troublesome.

There was no choice but to ask someone to send the memorial in, and then make physical and psychological preparations to accept Chongzhen's thunderous anger. Sure enough, when Emperor Chongzhen saw these two memorials, he was furious and immediately called Wen Tiren, scolding him and asked him to find a way to deal with it. Emperor Chongzhen said furiously that Zhang Zhun was becoming more and more lawless and must be eradicated to eliminate future troubles.

After coming out of Qinzheng Hall, Wen Tiren looked helpless.

What can he do?

Idiots know that to deal with Zhang Zhun, they can only be used to fight troops. All other methods are expedient measures. This is an unfamiliar dog. It can easily swallow up any bones you give it, and it will not vomit out any bits. Moreover, the court does not have any bones for him. The court itself has no bones to eat, so where can there be bones for others? There are many bones drawn on paper. But Zhang Zhun is not a fool. He can't even beat him, so why should he talk about cutting off the roots and eliminating future troubles?

At present, the imperial army is divided into two large pieces, one in Liaodong and Jiubian to defend against Mongolia and Jianlu. The other in the Central Plains, led by Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou, are pursuing the Shaanxi chaos. In other places, there are only second-rate or even third-rate troops. These troops cannot do anything except waste money and food. It is simply a joke to expect them to besiege Zhang Zhun.

The court has always been eager to take advantage of the opportunity that the Tartars were temporarily unable to attack the border and suppress the riots in Shaanxi as soon as possible. To fight against foreign countries, it is necessary to stabilize the country. This is the most basic truth. At this time, it is absolutely unwise to draw troops from the Central Plains to suppress Zhang Zhun. The good opportunity of the riots is because of an accident that caused the riots to come back and became even more arrogant. The court has always hoped to come to the riots again to completely resolve the riots. At this critical moment, it is absolutely impossible to draw Lu Xiangsheng or Hong Chengchou's soldiers.

It is even more unwise to mobilize troops from the Nine Borders. After the Tartars invaded twice, the Ministry of War had to strengthen its infiltration of intelligence in Liaodong. The intelligence recently reported was not very good. There are signs that the Tartars were gathering troops and had the intention of moving a lot. However, the Ministry of War could not judge which direction the Tartars were preparing to move a lot. In this way, the army on the Nine Borders would never move. If possible, they would have to increase troops to the Nine Borders. Especially in the three places such as Datong, Xuanfu, and Jizhen, the more troops the better.

What's more, even if the court dispatched troops, it might not be able to suppress Zhang Zhun. Previously, Sun Zhixie, the governor of Laizhou Prefecture, Yang Wenyue, Ruan Dacheng, and Zhu Dadian, had already tried it. Not only did he lose a lot of troops in vain, it also led Zhang Zhun to take the opportunity to expand his territory. It turned out that Zhang Zhun was just a Fushan District, and now he was legitimately a two-prefecture and one town. If the war soldiers from the Nine Borders or the war soldiers from the Central Plains were not mobilized to deal with Zhang Zhun, it would be a meat bun to beat a dog, and there would be no return.

This can be seen from the heads of the Tartars who were escorted back from Shandong by Shi Kefa. The originally boiling rumors in the capital disappeared without a trace after the 3,999 Tartar heads were delivered. What could be more powerful than the Tartars' heads? Seeing so many Tartar heads, even Chongzhen was quite sure. He was originally worried that the Tartars would enter Shandong to copy the retreat of the capital, but now it seems that the Tartars were just coming to die. He just hit Zhang Zhun's muzzle and lost thousands of people in vain.

Information about the war in Huangxian was also full of rumors in the capital. More than 4,000 beheaded in one breath, which has never been in the history of the Ming Dynasty. It is no wonder that the people are so excited. If the court had already dispatched such a powerful army, how could the Tatars have the capital to be arrogant? During this period, what was the hottest topic in the capital was naturally the great victory in Huangxian. Whether it was the inner courtyard of the palace or the peddlers and pawns, the most discussed matter was this. The morale of the entire Ming Dynasty was also boosted by the great victory in Huangxian.

Of course, the court could not allow the names of Zhang Zhun and the Hu Ben Army to appear in official occasions. Therefore, the court's publicity of the Huangxian victory only mentioned the general Shandong military and civilians, and never mentioned the names of Hu Ben Army and Zhang Zhun. Shandong Governor Zhu Dadian was appointed as the Prince Shaobao, and he made more contributions for no reason. However, such a method could deceive ordinary people, but not those who were discerning. Even Queen Yi'an Zhang Yan sent someone to check the heads of the Tartars in person and consulted the inside story.

In fact, Wen Tiren was mixed with joy and sorrow for the arrival of the Tartars. Even more sorrow than joy. Zhang Zhun killed thousands of Tartars in one breath. Such a record could no longer be described as unprecedented later, but must be described as sensational, horrifying, and shocking words.

Because the court did not want to see Zhang Zhun and his army as capable as he was. Especially Wen Tiren, he was even more unwilling to see this. I believe the emperor may not be willing to. The more powerful Zhang Zhun and the Tiger Ben army were, the more dangerous the Ming Dynasty was. If the Tartars were a group of hungry wolves and the Shaanxi chaos army was a group of rats, Zhang Zhun was a real tiger.

Wen Tiren thought about it and decided to send someone to question Zhang Zhun. If it is hard, then it is only soft. If it is soft, then it is only hard. If it is soft, then it is only time to think about the hard. The imperial court has to mobilize troops. I really can't force myself, so I can only draw the cavalry of Wu Sangui from Liaodong, plus Zuo Liangyu's infantry, and besiege Zhang Zhun together. If Wu Sangui and Zuo Liangyu can't deal with Zhang Zhun together, they can only let Hong Chengchou go into battle personally.

When he went to question Zhang Zhun's candidate, he could only be Shi Kefa. The head of the Tartars was what he wanted from Zhang Zhun. It seems that Zhang Zhun's impression of Shi Kefa was quite good. Except for him, other court officials did not dare to step onto the land of Laizhou Prefecture. It is said that Zhang Zhun had a dog-faced face and could turn against him. This is how Ni Chong was killed. Wen Tiren immediately sent someone to find Shi Kefa, comforted him after hearing this, and then explained the meaning of the court.

To be honest, Shi Kefa is no longer willing to deal with Zhang Zhun. He has realized that there is no possibility of bridging between Zhang Zhun and the court. From a personal perspective, Shi Kefa admires Zhang Zhun's ability, but from the perspective of ethics and morality, the rule of the rule of the monarch and minister, he does not like Zhang Zhun at all. In Shi Kefa's opinion, all those who are disrespectful to the court should be eliminated. Learning civil and military skills and selling against the imperial family, you will specifically oppose the emperor, and your great skills are useless!

However, Shi Kefa thought about this matter and agreed. He was indeed very angry. Before the imperial edict was dried, you Zhang Zhun used it to wipe your butt. Is this a bit too much? Do you want to force the court to deal with you regardless of your concern? If the court does not care about the Tartars or the rioters, first of all, Zhang Zhun will take action, and it is unknown who will kill you!

"Sir, Junan County is ahead."

Suddenly, Captain Caoding beside Shi Kefa said.

"Junan?"

“Isn’t it a crossroad?”

Shi Kefa was a little confused.

When did the ground of Qingzhou Prefecture have Juan County?

As a doctor at the Ministry of Revenue, Shi Kefa has carefully studied the customs and customs of various places. When he was young, he traveled to many places and was familiar with many places. There was obviously only one Cross Road Town between Andongwei and Yizhou, why did there suddenly become one Junan County?

"Sir, Cross Road has been renamed by the Huben Army, and it is now called Junan County."

Captain Caoding explained.

The captain of the canal was naturally under the command of Yang Yipeng, the governor of the canal transportation. Shi Kefa took a boat south this time. When he got ashore in Jining, he happened to meet Yang Yipeng who was summoned to Beijing. Yang Yipeng felt that there were too few people around Shi Kefa and that the road might not be safe, so he sent fifty more canal escorts, led by a captain. Compared with the general Ming army, the equipment and combat power of the canal were obviously stronger.

"Junan County is a crossroad..."

Shi Kefa said to himself, not caring much about it.

The group continued to move forward and soon entered the territory of Qingzhou Prefecture. The road, which was originally small, became even narrower. On both sides of the road, there were bare trees. In October, most of the trees had fallen leaves, and only bare branches hung there, which looked a bit sad. The road was gloomy, mainly because the weeds were too lush, and some of them were taller than human heads, which seriously blocked the view. If there were thieves hiding inside, no one could notice it. For this reason, Shi Kefa's entourage and the escorted Caoding were both vigilant to prevent thieves from jumping out suddenly.

The road turned a corner, and the scenery in front of me suddenly opened up, but it was a not only open space. On the open space, there were ten soldiers of the Hu Ben Army standing there in awe, as if they were preparing to check the pedestrians and business trips. Seeing Shi Kefa arrived, the soldiers of the Hu Ben Army immediately stepped forward and asked, "Who? Stop!"

Captain Caoding hurried forward and said loudly: "Don't be rude! This is the imperial envoy's superior, Lord Shi Kefashi!"

The soldiers of the Hu Ben Army were obviously a little dazed, as if they couldn't understand which Shi Kefa was. The Hu Ben Army, who looked at them carefully, frowned and said, "I am the chief of the Hu Ben Army, King 20,000. Are you from the court? What are you here to do?"

The captain of the Caoding team said angrily: "I am the young security guard of the prince, the Minister of Revenue and the Governor of the Cao Transport, the captain of Yang Yipeng, the governor of Fengyang and other places. This is the imperial envoy's superior, Lord Shi Kefashi! Go to Fushan City to find your chief general Zhang Zhun for business!"

Wang Erwan glanced at them, obviously not caring about his emphasis on his identity. He said in a tough tone: "You want to see our Grand Commander? Take out your confession documents!"

The captain Zhou Ming, the captain of the Caoding team, was Yang Yipeng's personal soldier and was a little arrogant. He had never seen the power of the Hu Ben Army with his own eyes. At this time, he was a little angry and tried to walk forward. He wanted to teach the other party a lesson so that the other party would be arrogant. After all, the imperial envoy was also the imperial envoy. What awesome are you a group of soldiers?

Wang Erwan's eyes suddenly turned cold and he said in a deep voice: "What imperial envoy? Stop it all!"

"Bang!"

The Tiger Army soldier next to him raised his hand and shot him into the sky.

As the gunshots were heard, dozens of fully armed Tiger Ben soldiers appeared behind them, surrounding Shi Kefa and others in a semicircle. The black muzzle was all aimed at them. Looking at their grim expressions, as long as someone gave an order, Shi Kefa and others would be shot to death immediately.

Zhou Ming was startled and hurriedly returned.

These barbarians!

There is still an ambush behind!

It's really more hateful than the Tartars!

There was no choice but to come forward to explain the purpose of the trip. He did want to see Zhang Zhun, and he also brought the imperial court orders, and of course he had his own personal confession documents. He spoke clearly and quickly explained the whole story of the matter clearly.

Soon, a more advanced leader of the Hu Ben Army came over and confirmed Shi Kefa's identity. Then he said seriously: "I am Hu Song, the Hu Ben Army. Put down your weapons! Do not bring weapons into the country!"

Zhou Ming said dissatisfiedly: "Our weapon is for the thief."

Hu Song said hard: "Our ground is free of thieves and is very safe."

Of course, Zhou Ming didn't believe it and said coldly: "Hey, brother, don't speak so much. Who doesn't know that Wulian Mountain is full of thieves? In the past, Andongwei was often attacked by thieves. If there was a problem with the imperial envoy, you would not be able to bear it."

Hu Song said hard: "I said no, but there is no! I will be responsible for any problems! Antonwei has no thieves, and there are no thieves here! Do you still want to cross the border?"

Zhou Ming had no choice but to order the release of his weapons.

The Hu Ben Army general searched all the weapons and found a place to put them in a random place, without even seeing the opponent's weapons. In fact, all the Caoding equipment was equipped with excellent bird guns, and their performance was quite good. However, compared with the Hu Ben gun, it was indeed far inferior.

Hu Song reminded: "When you come back, you will return the same way and get weapons here."

Zhou Ming had no choice but to agree.

Hu Song waved his hand, and Wang Erwan came up with ten Tiger Army soldiers, ready to escort, yes, or escort Shi Kefa and others on the way.

Seeing that the Hu Ben Army had only such a few people, Zhou Ming suddenly became anxious and shouted: "Hey! Can you send more people to escort? Isn't it just a joke when I encounter a thief? If something goes wrong with the imperial envoy, can you afford it?"

The Hu Song was angry, glared at Zhou Ming, and said hard: "I told you that there is no thief, there is no thief! Why are you so annoyed? I will be responsible for something wrong, why are you nervous?"
Chapter completed!