When winter comes to spring, when the white snow covering the earth has completely faded, the branches also begin to bloom with fresh and tender green.
For people in Beijing, the biggest change in spring is to change out of thick winter clothes and put on lighter and more elegant spring shirts.
Ever since Wantong returned to Jinyiwei, he found that the top and bottom of the place had changed. All the forces he had laid down had been wiped out, and even the two governors of the North and South Townships had changed. people.
He hated Yuan Bin so much in his heart that he had to re-arrange it from scratch. He finally replaced Nanzhen Fusi with his own people, but the most important thing was that Beizhen Fusi was different from Nanzhen Fusi. The place where the needle cannot be inserted.
Suizhou's holy family is no worse than Wantong, and he is not someone he can choose and replace at will. Now all the top and bottom officials of Beizhen Fusi are Suizhou's cronies. Wantong can't be hard, so he can only test Suizhou's position first. Then wait for the opportunity to slowly penetrate.
There are many people who dislike Wantong. The prince must be ranked first, but the prince can't move now, because the emperor still has affection for the prince, and there is always a group of people around the prince, who can often turn danger into danger at critical moments. , can't help but wonder if he is auspicious and blessed by gods.
But the prince can't move, it doesn't mean that others can't move either.
The prince's masters help the prince to invite pets in front of the emperor every day. Wantong also hates it, and Wang Zhi, the anti-bone boy who eats the inside and the outside, and Sui Zhou, who divides his power in the Jinyiwei, are all obstacles. They are all people Vantone wants to get rid of.
After the birthday feast, Wantong, Shang Ming, and others have been looking for opportunities. They are well aware of the truth of being bitten by a snake, or they will not take action. Attack, can not let the opponent have the opportunity to backlash.
This opportunity is coming soon.
Since Wang Zhi left the capital, he has been in the frontier for more than two years on and off. Although he has returned several times during this period, he has come and gone every time. In other words, his former capital management power has become less and less stable. .
Seeing that since the beginning of spring this year, the war in Datong has not been smooth. The Tatars have come to loot from time to time and follow their own homes. , and even lost a few games.
When the battle failed, the commander in the front was naturally to blame. So someone suggested that there was a problem with the command of the commander Wang Yue, and Wang Zhi, the supervisor, also needed to take responsibility. These two men had long held the military power of Datong, and they should have been replaced long ago. To change Wang Zhi, Wang Yue and the nearby garrison general should also be changed, lest they be suspected of possessing troops.
As soon as they were impeached, Wang Yue and Wang Zhi would naturally be busy defending themselves, and they also had to express that they had no desire for power. Face, even impeachment can pretend not to hear.
Since Wang Zhi listened to Tang Fan's admonition last time, he has long wanted to return to Beijing. Hearing the situation, he resigned from his post of military supervisor, saying that he missed the days of serving by His Majesty's side, as well as the homeland of the capital. Coupled with the wind and rain at the border in the past two years, the old injury on his body has recurred, and he hopes to return to Beijing to recover from the injury.
Little do they know that there are many people in the capital now, neither wanting him to win the battle nor to return to the capital, so they spoke in front of the emperor, saying that in the Hetao area, the Tartars frequently invaded, and it was thanks to Wang Zhi who was guarding before that, so it was possible. Good news, although the situation is unfavorable now, the abilities of Wang Zhi and Wang Yue are there, please give them more opportunities and patience, let them stay there, and make greater contributions to Daming, but in order to prevent Those who have ulterior motives slander the hero indiscriminately, and should also send a new governor to Datong.
The emperor quickly agreed to this, and transferred the original governor of Datong back, and appointed Guo Tang as governor of Datong, and officially appointed Wang Zhi as the eunuch guarding Datong.
In the past, Wang Zhi was just a military supervisor. Although he has an official title now, it also means that once this title is deducted, he will justifiably stay in Datong, and he will not be able to return in the short term.
Not long after this incident, officials from the DPRK and the DPRK came forward one after another, saying that the West Factory was very scrutinized, and the people complained that they should stop the West Factory. Will also play.
The once mighty and domineering West Factory was quietly closed.
In this turmoil, Qiu Jun, who was demoted to Nanjing a long time ago for impeaching Wang Zhi, did not go to the court this time.
There is no reason for it. Although Mr. Qiu can't stand Wang Zhi, he can't stand a bunch of villains falling into a hole. Of course, he doesn't want to jump up and down and take advantage of others' danger.
Having said that, if you want to say that the West Factory is disturbing the people, why didn't these people say it before, and only after the emperor appointed Wang Zhi as the eunuch guarding Datong
It's nothing more than that everyone was afraid of offending Wang Zhi before, but now it seems that he may not be able to come back.
These two moves are smashed and beaten together, and the end is ruthless. The first move seems to give Wang Zhi the power of life and death in Datong, but in fact, he is firmly pinned there. Since he can't come back, of course he can't care. In Xichang, far away in the capital, the gang of disciples and grandchildren under his command naturally followed suit.
However, this is cheaper for Suizhou, because many people in the West Factory were originally transferred from Jinyiwei. They are not eunuchs. Wang Zhi is not an idiot. It's not good, so I quickly wrote to Tang Fan and asked him to go to Suizhou for help.
So Suizhou took Wang Zhi's confidants and cronies over when Xichang was being served in one pot, so that they could shelter from the wind and rain and avoid cleaning.
In this turmoil, Wang Zhi seemed to have suffered an innocent disaster, but in fact it was because Xichang was too arrogant and domineering before and offended many people.
When it was beautiful, everyone naturally dared to be angry and did not dare to say anything. Now that the scenery is gone, who doesn’t step on it quickly. Many things have a cause and a result. If you are involved in the officialdom, if you care too much about the gains and losses, you will be punished sooner or later. Alive and pissed.
Wang Zhi obviously understood this, so he didn't react much after hearing that the West Factory was raided.
Although it was rumored that when the news reached Datong, Eunuch Wang was so angry that he smashed several cups and shouted, "These turtle grandchildren, I want them back sooner or later" and so on, but these are only rumors after all, and the listeners will laugh it off. , not really enough.
However, the person who played the chess game behind the scenes thought that the game was far from over.
After Guo Bor replaced the original Datong governor, the war did not get better. Instead, several strange incidents happened on the front line. The news reached the capital, and Wan Tong, the commander of Jinyiwei, suggested that the case of Tang Fan, the censor of Zuoqiu, was like a god. , thoughtful and thoughtful, you can go to Datong to assist in handling this matter, and Suizhou, the Fusi Town of Beizhen, acts decisively, and you can also go with you.
The emperor granted his request and ordered Tang Fan and Suizhou to set off for Datong in a few days to assist in the war.
Datong was a famous city in the state of Zhao during the Warring States Period. After Emperor Taizu established the Ming Dynasty, Datong Mansion was established, which was under the jurisdiction of Shanxi.
As an important frontier town in the Ming Dynasty, Datong has the Great Wall under its jurisdiction, starting from Pianguan in the west and reaching Juyongguan in the east.
It has become the front line against the Tatars, and the Tatars have repeatedly invaded from the Hetao and plundered Datong.
Due to the important status of Datong, there is a convenient official road from the capital to Datong, which is convenient for stage horses to gallop. The distance between the two places is less than a thousand miles.
Opening his mouth above and breaking his legs from running below, Tang Fan didn't expect that when he was sitting at home, disaster would come from the sky, and he would even be sent to Datong to eat sand.
He also knew that he had offended Wantong last time, and the other party was bound to find an opportunity to retaliate. Now he has dispatched both Tang Fan and Sui Zhou out of Beijing. The most important purpose is to move Sui Zhou away from Jinyiwei so that He started to attack Beizhen Fusi himself.
And Tang Fan said it was just incidental.
But even knowing this is useless.
The imperial decree cannot be violated. Rao is favored like Suizhou, so he must pack up and go on the road with Tang Fan.
After Suizhou left, in Wantong's opinion, Beizhen Fusi was headless, just to facilitate his rectification. Who knew that Suizhou had already made arrangements, and ran to face the saint on the eve of his departure from Beijing, saying that he was in Datong, and Ruobei I am afraid that it is difficult to take care of the work of the Zhenfu Division. Please agree to let the emperor recommend two people to temporarily serve as the Zhenfu envoy who also leads the Northern Zhenfu Division.
One of these two people was Xue Ling, while the other had a somewhat unfamiliar name, Mu Bin.
The position of Zhenfu Envoy originally only had one place, but Suizhou knew that once he left, the people under him were not qualified enough. No matter who came up to lead it on his behalf, he would be overwhelmed by Wantong, so he specially recommended two people to let this person go. The two are jointly in charge of Beizhen Fusi.
The emperor naturally agreed to Suizhou's request.
Wantong didn't expect Suizhou to put on such a pose before he left, and his nose was almost crooked, but he thought about it, although Xue Ling is the old man in front of Suizhou, his qualifications are worse than Suizhou after all. After that, and Mu Bin was a nameless junior who had never heard of it, as long as he brought down that Mu Bin first and left Xue Ling alone, it would be easy to deal with.
When Suizhou came back and greeted him, it was no longer the Beizhen Fusi before he left.
His wishful thinking was very good, but he forgot that Suizhou would promote an unknown junior to be a suffragette, and there was naturally his own reason for it.
Xue Ling and Mu Bin, one strong and one weak, one shrewd and the other upright, cooperated perfectly.
Wantong originally wanted to find Mu Bin's weakness, pull him off his horse, and then concentrate on dealing with Xue Ling, but who would have looked around and found that this unknown person had no weaknesses, not only that, but also on Mu Bin. He has a kind of integrity that even ordinary civil servants may not have. Wantong searched around, but could not find any evidence that he accepted bribes and had a good sex.
God, can this still be called Jin Yiwei? !
Wantong finally knew why Suizhou pushed this person out before he left, in order to make himself angry.
But these are all things to talk about later. Even if Wantong jumped with anger in the capital, Suizhou would not be able to appreciate it with his own eyes.
At this moment, he, Tang Fan and others just arrived at the destination of this trip.
The majestic and sturdy city wall stood in front of them, and on the tall gatehouse, the two characters of Datong were engraved on the plaque made of stone like a stylus and a silver hook, just like the feeling of this city.
This is a heroic and unruly city with the legacy of Yan and Zhao.
This is a city of chivalrous heart, watered with the flesh and blood of Ming soldiers.
Although Tang Fan has been to many places, he has never been to Datong, so when he came here, he was immediately shocked by the aura in front of him, and it was Sui Zhou who was next to him who lightly touched him with a horse whip, and then Tang Fan was able to Come back to your senses.
According to the habit of Wenzhu Wufu, this trip is still dominated by Tang Fan, but there are not many people they bring, and Suizhou wants to keep some people to contain Wantong, so naturally they can't bring all the cronies here. He was left in the capital by him, and this time he only brought a dozen fine horses such as Pang Qi.
It is broad daylight now, and there are many people queuing up outside the city to enter the city. I don't know why, but the speed of progress is very slow. Maybe it is because of the strict inspection at the city gate.
Tang Fan and the others were on official business, so they waited so slowly, and without knowing when, they drove their horses directly to the city gate, took out a check, showed their identity, and asked to enter the city first.
Who knew that this set of procedures would not work here, the city gate guards looked at them up and down, with a strong suspicion and scrutiny on their faces: "Since it was sent by the imperial court, why don't you wear official uniforms? "
To say how majestic Jin Yiwei's robe is, once the upper body is put on, it is highly recognizable, and there are very few people who don't recognize it, but when Tang Fan and the others encountered a heavy rain on the road, they were all wet, so they put on a replacement. Clothes, who knows that there will be a heavy rain the next day, and the replacement is also wet. As a last resort, the group stayed in the inn, waiting for the clothes to be washed and dried. In order to avoid the same situation again, they simply put on their regular clothes. , ready to wait until later to change.
Tang Fan asked Pang Qi and the others to take apart the bag, revealing a gorgeous and splendid corner for the other party to check.
However, the other party's doubts were not eliminated, but he was a little more polite, and he left "Everyone and wait" and ran back all the way, not knowing who to report to.
Everyone was busy all the way, thinking that they could go in for a rest and take a hot bath, but who knew that they were stopped when they arrived at the city gate, Pang Qi and others were a little unhappy, Tang Fan said to them: "It's abnormal, maybe Something happened in the city."
That being said, Tang Fan and his party were left hanging there. After waiting for a long time, they saw the soldier and a person dressed as a general approaching.
After all, the general was winking, and although he did not hide his guard, he still reported his family to them: "Xiaguan Meng Cun is the general defense general of Datong. I wonder if all of you are going to enter the city?"
Pang Qi finally couldn't bear it any longer: "You're not talking nonsense, what are we doing here if we don't enter the city! We didn't come here by ourselves, but were sent by the imperial court. Don't you, your commander-in-chief, have not received the official letter from the imperial court? What!"
Mr. Meng Bing also knew that if the other party was really Jinyiwei, he would definitely not be able to offend him, so he smiled apologetically: "Yes, but some things have happened recently, and the Chief Bing has specially explained that the entrance and exit of the city gates must be strictly checked. especially… "
He didn't finish his words, but Tang Fan could also guess that the second half of the sentence was probably "especially people like you who pretend to be imperial envoys" or something.
Tang Fan stopped Pang Qi, who wanted to get angry, and said to Meng Cun: "Since your commander-in-chief has an order, we can't embarrass you. What do you need to check when you enter the city, you just follow the rules."
Meng Cun hurriedly said with a smile: "This lord is reasonable and reasonable, and I also ask you all to hand over the combination and waist card to Xiaguan, who will take it into the city and personally show it to the commander-in-chief and Eunuch Wang. Naturally, you can enter the city.”
This joke is a bit too big. The waist card is something that you carry with you to prove your identity. How can you give it to someone casually? If the other party takes it away, they will say that they are unidentified people, where will they go to reason
As soon as Meng Cun said this, even Tang Fan restrained his smile slightly.
Pang Qi was even more furious: "Which mountain is the rule! When have you ever seen a waist card and you can give it to anyone?! Go and call your general soldier to see us, these two are Zuo Wei. Master Tang of the Imperial Censor, and Master Sui, our minister of the Beizhen Fusi, I want to see if we want to enter, who dares to stop us!"
When Meng Cun heard the official positions of Tang Fan and Suizhou, his expression finally changed slightly, he turned his head and gave the soldier a stern look, then turned around again with a smile on his face, and repeatedly bowed and folded his hands: "I don't know if the two adults are here, please also please. Forgive me, the lower official is a rude person, he has been at the border for a long time, and he doesn't understand anything, please don't have the same knowledge as me!"
Seeing that he was being careful and polite, but still didn't let them in, Tang Fan knew that something big must have happened here before, so he said to him, "Is the Datong eunuch Wang Gong in the city today?"
Meng Cun hurriedly said: "Engong Wang is here, but he and the commander-in-chief are discussing matters, and the lower officials dare not go in to disturb him, so he came first."
Tang Fan said: "Just go in and report, and say that Tang Fan is here. What responsibility is there, I'll take care of it for you."
Meng Cun was dubious, but he said it all, and he couldn't forcibly seize Tang Fan and others' waist cards, so he said, "Then the official will enter the city and report to the city, and please wait a moment, my lords!"
He turned around and entered the city.
It is estimated that because of his private explanation, after Meng Cun left, a few soldiers surrounded the city gate, all staring at them, and even the people who entered the city next to Tang Fan and his party became strange. Let Tang Fan and the others laugh and laugh.
After waiting for a long time, Tang Fan simply found a stone by the city wall and sat down, and whispered to Sui Zhou.
At the other end, two people hurried out of the city. One of them seemed to recognize Tang Fan. After seeing the person sitting under the wall, he quickly stepped forward and trotted forward with a smile on his face.
"Sure enough, it's Mr. Tang! Since we learned of the court's decree a few days ago, our father-in-law has been talking about you, you are here! It's really necessary to keep you waiting for a long time. I'm here to apologize to you. It's gone!"
Tang Fan still had some impressions of him: "Are you Ding Rong?"
Seeing that he recognized him, Ding Rong looked even happier: "Hey, it's the little one, Mr. Wang asked the little boy to pick up the adults!"
Meng Cun's face was embarrassed. He bowed to Tang Fan, Sui Zhou and others again and again: "Xiaguan has sinned, you have eyes and don't know Mount Tai, please don't have the same knowledge as Xiaguan!"
Tang Fan waved his hand: "If it were to change the weekdays, Mr. Meng Ba would not be so embarrassed. Does it mean that something happened in the city?"
Meng Cun saw that Pang Qi and other Jinyiwei gentlemen were still dark, and he thought that they were more considerate scholars, so he said gratefully: "Indeed, a few adults don't know anything, just before you came here, we just caught a few rounds. The Tatars who wandered the city made meticulous work, and one of them pretended to be officials and family members. At that time, they also deceived the brothers who were guarding the city, which almost caused a catastrophe. For this reason, the commander-in-chief made a big fire and made the lower officials and others. If we let spies enter the city again, we will treat them as spies. It's a last resort, so please calm down, my lords!"
Ding Rong also said next to him: "I want to teach a few adults to know that it is indeed the case. At that time, the headmaster who let people into the city was beaten with a baton in public by the headmaster and dismissed from his post, so the inspection in the city was so strict. , is worried about repeating the same mistakes.”
Tang Fan knew that Wang Yue was strict in governing the army. He also knew that Wang Yue had a high prestige in the army in the past few years in Datong. Otherwise, he would not have been able to lead the army to repeatedly repel the Tartars.
After listening to Meng Cun and Ding Rong's explanations, Pang Qi and the others finally cleared up their doubts, and their anger subsided.
Tang Fan then asked, "The Tartars also used meticulous techniques to investigate the military situation?"
Ding Rong smiled bitterly: "The Tartars go straight and go straight, and they always run away after fighting. After those meticulous works were caught, they were checked by Duke Wang and General Wang, and found that they seemed to be related to the White Lotus Sect!"
White Lotus Sect
Tang Fan was taken aback, how did he go around and meet the White Lotus Sect again
It is not surprising that this cult has been operating for many years, and its forces are distributed in the south and the north. They plan to conspire with the Tatars in the north.
As soon as they entered the city, Tang Fan and the others found that the atmosphere in the city was very different from other places. The pedestrians on the road were in a hurry, and most of them were tense, far less leisurely than the people in the capital.
From time to time, soldiers stationed in the city came towards them with spears and halberds. Tang Fan and his party looked at them, and they returned their curious eyes, and they were surprised when they saw Mr. Meng Ba who was walking behind Tang Fan. He hurriedly stopped to salute, and was scolded by Meng Cun a few times before he ran away.
There are seven counties under Datong Prefecture. This place is Datong County, the seat of Datong Prefecture. Although it is the county seat, its location is important. Since the Yongle period retreated from Hetao to the interior, this place has become the front line of the Ming army and the northern ethnic groups. The Tars themselves are nomads and cannot be self-sufficient like the farming peoples, and can only rely on plundering wealth from abroad to meet their internal development needs.
For them, being able to enter the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty means that they have rolling wealth, and the Tatars do not want to occupy the cities of the Ming Dynasty. They just want to come and loot regularly. This is the most suitable mode of survival for them. .
Under the attack of this kind of intermittent war, the people of the border city naturally exercised a pair of steel and iron bones that are invulnerable to all poisons. Even young women have a refreshing feeling that is not found elsewhere.
However, although it is a border town, the materials here are not lacking. Tang Fan took a quick glance and paid a little attention, and found that there are many shops on the street. There are also fabric shops, ready-to-wear shops, and people are also visiting. Maybe at best, they are just optional There are fewer colors and patterns, and fewer fashionable styles.
Seeing that he seemed to be very interested, Ding Rong asked, "Sir, are you going to make clothes?"
Tang Fan shook his head: "Just look, where are we going now?"
Ding Rong said: "Wang Gong asked the junior to bring all the adults to see him."
Tang Fan asked, "Has he finished discussing with President Wang?"
Ding Rong said: "It wasn't when the little one came out, but Mr. Wang is not in a good mood these days..."
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows: "Is it because of the war?"
Ding Rong nodded, the volume was not too loud or too low, just so that only Tang Fan and Sui Zhou could hear: "A while ago the court sent the next governor Guo, and after he came, he had quite a disagreement with Wang Gong and Wang Zongbing. , Every time there is a discussion and a war, the three of them always have an argument."
Tang Fan asked, "Then what is it for today?"
What he asked wasn't a secret. Even if Ding Rong didn't say it, they could find out afterward. What's more, Tang Fan came here to help him. In any case, it was a help to Wang Zhi.
Ding Rong must have understood this, so he told the truth: "Although the city has frequently caught traces of Xing Zuo, the movements of the Ming army always seem to be known in advance to those Tartars. Like last time, we were tilting our heads. The gates were mainly fortified, but the Tatars seemed to know where our troops were mainly deployed, so they bypassed the Bitou Pass and went to Guangling County to loot."
Tang Fan heard that and Sui Zhou looked at each other, and both saw undisguised surprises in the other's eyes.
"Didn't you guys say earlier that you caught two tricks, you couldn't prevent them?" Tang Fan frowned.
"I can't help it!" Having said this, Ding Rong couldn't help showing a slightly frightened expression on his face, "It's more than that, the troops we sent to chase the Tartars went out three times without returning. The last time, Wang The commander-in-chief sent someone to look for it, five hundred people, but in the end only seven were found."
Tang Fan: "Have you caught the enemy's trap?"
Ding Rong shook his head: "Some said they saw a ghost, and some said that those Tartars had the help of ghosts and gods, calling for wind and rain, and leading them into a terrible place. If they didn't run fast when they saw the opportunity behind the team, I guess it would be Can't come back."
Tang Fan had previously thought that Datong had a general soldier, a governor, and a guard eunuch. All three of them were enough to sing a show. Even if he came, he would have nothing to do with himself. He didn't expect the situation here to be unexpectedly complicated. .
What traps, what ghosts and gods help, where can the Tartars know those things
People are a tribe known for their cavalry combat effectiveness, and this kind of trick of pretending to be a ghost is related to the White Lotus Sect.
But Tang Fan has dealt with the White Lotus Sect several times, so he naturally knows how difficult they are.
The only thing they lack is strong enough strength, and now they are mixed with the Tatars, and they have not hit it off, have they turned the sky upside down
Thinking of this, Tang Fan felt sympathy for Wang Zhi. This father-in-law Wang was indeed unlucky. The West Factory was destroyed, and he was still uneasy here.
After Ding Rong explained this, he said, "If the old man will be rude to the adults later, please forgive me!"
Tang Fan smiled and said, "You are loyal and loyal! Don't worry, my father-in-law and I are old acquaintances. I don't know what his temperament is. Naturally, I won't take it to heart."
Ding Rong hurriedly smiled: "It's a little talkative!"
Now the governor of Datong, Guo Tang, is the first assistant to Wan'an. He replaced the former governor and came to take office. Of course, he did not come to make trouble for Wang Zhi and Wang Yue to work together to create a better future.
Wang Zhi and Wang Yue have been operating in Datong for two years, and have reorganized a dilapidated city into what it is now.
After hearing what Ding Rong said, Tang Fan and the others were already mentally prepared to persuade them to fight.
Who knows that when they are brought into the General Military Mansion, they will find that their imagination is still lacking.
I saw that in the hall of the central hall, all the desks and chairs that were supposed to be there were gone, replaced by an incense table, a rooster, and a Taoist priest.
As well as the white smoke lingering around the room, and two people standing next to them, shrouded in white smoke and unable to see their faces.
The next moment, Tang Fan's eyes almost bulged out.
He found that the Taoist priest was holding the sword in his hand, and the other hand was holding the dying rooster, and the blade was cutting its neck.
The Taoist priest shouted: "Tai Shang Lao Jun is in a hurry like a law, break it!"
Along with his voice, chicken blood was sprayed on the two people on the side.
When Tang Fan and the others approached, they found that the two people actually knew each other.
Datong general soldier, Wang Yue.
Datong guards the eunuch, Wang Zhi.
Tang Fan: "..."
Suizhou: "..."
What the hell is this doing? ?