Daming: Stealing Chen Yuanyuan at the beginning

Chapter 25: Thousands of gold buys horse bones, sir, he is really my Zhang Liang
The spring plowing ceremony is over, and the farmers are plowing the fields in full swing. This situation makes people feel infinite hope.

Cao Huachun went on a killing spree in Nanjing, used ruthless and bloody methods to suppress the resistance of officials and businessmen, and began to increase business taxes.In a few days, a large amount of silver will be shipped to Ningling.

Ningling County's policy of reclaiming wasteland and increasing commercial taxes in the south has temporarily solved the "money" problem.Coupled with the tens of millions of taels of silver brought from the capital, it is enough to support the people of Ningling County for many years.

Next, we need to solve the problem of "soldiers", which is even more difficult.

Li Cunming called the ministers to discuss the matter, saying: "If you have any opinions and methods, everyone can speak freely."

Liu Dacai, the magistrate of the county, said: "The key is that the population of the county is withered, and the dead and the dead are fleeing. Ten rooms are empty. If you want to recruit refugees to reclaim the wasteland, where can you find so many strong men to serve as soldiers? Excuse me bluntly, This is the case in several nearby counties."

"It's not just the Ningling area? Over the years, there have been droughts and floods, and military disasters one after another. The situation in the south is a little better, but it's also miserable. Needless to say, the north." Jiang Dejing added.

Liu Wenbing said: "My lords, what's the use of complaining? The emperor wants you to come up with a solution! Since there are few people in the north and there are insufficient soldiers, go to the south to recruit new soldiers."

Li Banghua nodded and said: "This is a feasible method. First, the disaster in the south is light and the population is still sufficient. Moreover, the emperor raised the soldiers' salaries, which will greatly tempt the men who want to eat military rations; Mountains, the folk customs are tough, and the common people often become bandits and pirates if they don’t have enough to eat, they are good candidates for soldiers. Isn’t the famous Qi’s army just farmers and miners recruited from Yiwu?”

"Well, I will go to the south to recruit troops. I am not afraid of trouble." Li Cunming said.

Liu Wenbing took the initiative to invite Ying: "The admiral is in charge of the Beijing camp. It is my duty to recruit soldiers. I am willing to go to the south in person."

"Your Majesty, let the old minister go." Li Banghua stood up and explained his reasons, "I am from the south, and I have been an official in the south for many years. Adults are more convenient."

"No, leave the recruiting to Liu Wenbing." Li Cunming looked at Li Banghua and said with a smile, "I have a more important matter to ask Li Aiqing. I want you to recruit talents."

With that said, he took out a list and handed it to Li Banghua.

The names of many people were written on the list, namely: Bi Maokang, Song Yingxing, Zhang Guowei, Du Yinxi, Zhang Huangyan, Yan Yingyuan, Chen Mingyu, Feng Houdun, etc., and also marked the approximate whereabouts of these people.

Bi Maokang was recommended by Qi Tianming to the emperor before his death. This act reminded Li Cunming that it was time to recruit talents, so he wrote a list from memory.

Li Banghua knew some people. For example, Zhang Guowei was Li Banghua's old boss when he was Minister of the Ministry of War; Du Yinxi and Zhang Huangyan were well-known among scholars; It is only heard that the person has never met.

But Li Banghua had never heard of the remaining few people. How did the emperor know about these people?

"Li Aiqing, inviting these people here is no less than inviting thousands of troops to me! You must be careful, lower your posture, go twice if you can't do it once, and learn from Liu Bei and visit the thatched cottage. In addition, whether they come or not If you don’t come, everyone will give 10 taels of silver as a settling fee.” Li Cunming said very seriously.

Jiang Dejing exclaimed: "Your Majesty, is it too courteous? Li Butang went to invite him in person, and gave him another 10 taels of settlement..."

Li Cunming laughed loudly: "The Minister of the Household Department is the Minister of the Household Department, and he is very sensitive when it comes to money. Are you worried that no amount of money will be enough because you see me spending money like water these days?"

"Money, what you earn is what you spend, as long as you use it rightly."

"I'm still worried that the 10 taels of housing expenses will be less. The ancients bought horse bones with thousands of dollars, so I'm not far behind! I want to tell the world through this move, what is the most precious thing in the Ming Dynasty? It's not gold, it's not silver, and it's not antiques." Jade treasures, calligraphy and paintings are talents! Talents like Qing and others who are loyal to the country are my most rare treasures!"

These few words melted into the hearts of the ministers like a warm current, and they were deeply moved.

Li Cunming smiled and said: "As long as you have talent, feel free to come to me. If you want an official, you can give me money. If you want a woman...it's a pity that I also lack women around me."

The courtiers laughed loudly, and after laughing, they did their best to complete their tasks.

……

Recruiting recruits and recruiting talents is not something that can be done in a day or two.

While waiting patiently, Li Cunming went to the school field to watch Zhou Yuji practice soldiers.Zhou Yuji is a rare general, he has his own way of training soldiers, of course Li Cunming will not point fingers at others.

"It's just that there are many ways to learn from the military training methods of later generations. When I think maturely, I will discuss it with Zhou Yuji and choose a method that suits the actual situation and use it."

"In fact, there is no need to learn from the methods of military training of later generations. It is enough to use Qi Jiguang's set of methods. Well, I have to find the military books left by Qi Jiguang."

The soldiers were engrossed in their drill when suddenly there was a commotion.It turned out that Princess Changping galloped into the school field riding a horse and holding a bow, and wanted to join the queue.

"Princess, it's our lord's business to serve in the army, so don't embarrass me." Zhou Yuji persuaded.

Li Cunming walked over and sighed: "Forget it, since this girl likes it, let her join the queue. General Zhou, everyone in the army should be treated equally. How you train other soldiers is how you train Princess Changping. "

"Chang Ping, you have suffered so much, don't come here and cry!"

"Understood!" Princess Changping had already run to the team holding her bow and arrow.

This evening, the weather was cold.The courtiers were all busy with their work, and the county government seemed a little deserted.

Li Cunming wandered around, pushed open the door of a side room in the front yard and walked in.The clerks and servants in the yamen usually work here and wait for orders, but at this time there is only one person in the room, burning a pot of charcoal fire.

This person is very unfamiliar, I have never seen him before, his appearance is a bit strange, and his ears are big.He raised his eyes to look at Li Cunming, nodded slightly as a greeting, and then buried himself in writing.

"What are you writing?" Li Cunming asked.

"According to Jiang Shangshu's order, a record is made to register the situation of the refugees opening up wasteland."

Li Cunming nodded, this job was very urgent, so he didn't bother him, and sat by the brazier to warm up alone.

Suddenly, I remembered that I was lucky to be with Concubine Yuan last night. After being lingering in love, I lay on the bed and sighed with a pun: "Ningling County is small, and the bed in the house is also small. I can't use my hands and feet, and I can't show my majesty!"

At that time, Concubine Yuan smiled and said with affectionate eyes: "Your Majesty, how are you doing?"

Thinking of this, Li Cunming fiddled with the charcoal fire in a daze, and said to himself: "Ningling is really too small, when can I show my skills?"

"It's not difficult for Your Majesty to show off his talents!" said the clerk.

Li Cunming looked back at him: "I don't know the name of the gentleman, if you have a good opinion, please enlighten me!"

"I'm Yan Ermei."

"Oh, you are Yan Ermei?" Li Cunming exclaimed, stood up hurriedly, and said with a smile, "When did you arrive in Ningling, sir, and how did you become a scribe? I have been negligent, please forgive me! "

This time it was Yan Ermei's turn to be surprised, and asked: "Your Majesty, do you know me?"

Yan Ermei, the giant of Fushe, was a famous literati in the late Ming Dynasty.But this person is not a literati in the ordinary sense. He not only knows how to write, but also has strategies.

In the Hongguang Dynasty of the Southern Ming Dynasty, Shi Kefa once thought about cheering up. When Li Zicheng was defeated by Jiannu, he actively dispatched troops to the Northern Expedition.

Gao Jie led the army to Suizhou, but was trapped and killed by Xu Dingguo who secretly surrendered to the Manchu Qing, which caused the Northern Expedition to falter.Gao Jie was killed, and his subordinates were in panic. Yan Ermei persuaded Shi Kefa to recognize Gao Jie's son as his adopted son, but Shi Kefa refused to listen.

Yan Ermei persuaded Shi Kefa to gather soldiers and continue the northern expedition, but Shi Kefa refused to listen and fled back to Yangzhou.

The final result was that tens of thousands of Gao Jie's subordinates fled in all directions, and some even surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and became the leading party for Jiannu to go south.

People of later generations often give Shi Kefa a high evaluation because of his martyrdom in Yangzhou. In fact, Shi Kefa is a pedantic and incompetent bookworm.

In Li Cunming's view, ten Shi Kefas are no match for one Yan Ermei, just like those literati Cao Zhi in the Three Kingdoms period. They may be noble in character and beautiful in writing, but they cannot be compared with Guo Jia, Zhuge Liang and others anyway.

After winning the Ningling defense battle, Li Banghua wrote a letter to Yan Ermei, recruiting him to serve the country.The letter said that the current emperor has the talents and strategies of Emperor Tang Zong and Song Zu. The emperor predicted that Li Zicheng would not be able to defend the capital and that slaves would enter the pass.

Li Banghua knew that Yan Ermei was arrogant, so he agreed with him to wait and see, if the emperor's prophecy came true, he must come to Ningling, it is rare to meet a holy master through the ages, how can he waste his talent in vain.

Later, Li Ziguo was defeated at Shanhaiguan and fled westward. Dorgon entered the pass with Manchu cavalry and was about to move the capital.

Yan Ermei rushed to Ningling immediately, but Li Banghua went to the south at this time.Jiang Dejing didn't know Yan Ermei's name, so he arranged for him to be a scribe. He was arrogant, and he didn't bother to take out Li Banghua's letter to raise his value.

After listening to Yan Ermei's narration, Li Cunming said: "I just said that Li Banghua is old enough to seek the country. He invited Mr. for me. That is a great achievement! Sir, please sit down, I ordered people to bring wine and food, and we will have a long talk all night."

Just as he was talking, Gong Yonggu hurried into the house and shouted: "Your Majesty, Gao Jie led the army to march westward quickly, saying that he was going to Suizhou and then attack Kaifeng! Should we be careful?"

Gao Jie is based in Xuzhou and Sizhou. To lead his troops to attack Kaifeng, he must pass through the border of Ningling.And this person is domineering and arrogant, Gong Yonggu's worries are not superfluous.

"I just made a decree a few days ago to confer titles on Gao Jie and others, so that the four towns in Jiangbei cannot be rashly moved. Why is Gao Jie suddenly going to attack Kaifeng?" Li Cunming asked.

"It seems to be the idea of ​​Shi Kefa and other Nanjing officials. They are under the banner of uniting the Qing Dynasty to suppress the bandits."

"Nonsense!" Li Cunming frowned, thinking that what should come will always come?

Hastily ordered: "Gong Yonggu, you go and stop Gao Jie yourself, let him lead the troops back to Xuzhou, and don't allow him to go to Suizhou."

Yan Ermei wondered: "What does this mean, Your Majesty? I think letting Gao Jie take advantage of the chaos to regain Kaifeng will make the situation more favorable to the court. Since ancient times, the Central Plains cannot live without Henan for a day, and Henan cannot live without Kaifeng for a day. The strategic position is extremely important.”

"Mr. Yan, I also want to regain Kaifeng. But I have a premonition that Gao Jie will die in Suizhou, and Xu Dingguo will kill him. Do you believe my premonition?"

"Really?" Yan Ermei stroked his beard, and suddenly a cold murderous intent shot out from his eyes, "Then Gao Jie should go to Suizhou! Isn't the emperor short of major generals? Didn't he dislike Ning Ling for being too young? "

Li Cunming was stunned for a moment, and understood Yan Ermei's intention, he wanted to borrow a knife to kill someone, and let the emperor take the opportunity to recruit Gao Jie's army.

This person is so sinister, but I like it!

Yan Ermei seemed to see through Li Cunming's mind, and asked: "Why, does the emperor think that my plan is not upright?"

"No, I think you are really my Zhang Liang. Please accept my respect, sir!" Li Cunming bowed.

(End of this chapter)