Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 434
Early the next morning, Yang Menglong went to visit Sun Chengzong.

Old man Sun, Minister of the Ministry of War, is almost semi-retired now. There is no way, the root cause of the illness that fell during the Battle of Daling River has not been completely healed, and recurring attacks. Leave it to a few ministers of the Ministry of War to deal with it, and he will only work up the energy to participate in particularly important matters.According to Yang Menglong's opinion, it is better for Chongzhen to let old man Sun retire, and choose another young and vigorous person to be the Minister of the Ministry of War. , isn't that elder abuse!But Chongzhen didn't see it that way. The emperor caught anyone who could be used until he died—whether he was killed by him or died of illness. In his opinion, although Sun Chengzong was old, he could still make do with it. I have to work for a few more years, but I didn’t see that unlucky guy Feng Yuanbiao was so sick that he couldn’t speak. The big boss didn’t even let him retire. Why should you retire?

Coincidentally, Sun Chengzong was still in good spirits today. He was talking about official business with a military servant who was also gray-haired in the living room. He was very happy when he heard that Yang Menglong was here. Gone, you remembered to come to the capital to see the old man!"

Yang Menglong chuckled: "I don't have time to spare! My lord, have you been feeling better recently?"

Sun Chengzong said: "This body is going to get better, it's old, it's useless."

Yang Menglong said: "Don't say that, Daming is still counting on you to support this crisis. I brought some honey and cheese from Nanyang. Boss, drink some tonic in the morning. Within half a year, I guarantee you will be alive and well." With a gesture, Jiang Zheng and Shi Tianbao presented a box of honey and a box of cheese.

Sun Chengzong drooled and asked, "Did you bring some candied dates, persimmon cakes, longan or something for the old man?"

Yang Menglong said: "I brought it with me, and each took five catties."

The old man was dissatisfied: "It's only five catties? The wealthy General Yang gave this away. Isn't it too shabby?"

Yang Menglong rolled his eyes: "You think you are still a young and strong guy, you can eat and drink as much as you want? Eating so many sweets is not good for your body at all... Really, when you are old, a little You don’t even know how to maintain your health!” He angrily pushed the servant away and strode in.

The Minister of the Ministry of War was very surprised, and after he entered, he whispered to Sun Chengzong: "My lord, is this person too casual? He is simply a superior official..."

Sun Chengzong smiled heartily and said: "Zhong Lun, you don't know him... This kid is a donkey, he can't be led away, he can't go backwards, he has a very wild temper, if you deal with him with that set of official airs, he will immediately I'll kick you over and walk away. Just be casual and treat it like you're talking to your grandson."

The Minister of the Ministry of War is a little speechless, and there is such a superb product?But then again, at Yang Menglong's age, it's a bit too young to be the grandson of the two old men, so forget it, just be casual.

In the living room, Yang Menglong has asked people to put dried fruits such as candied dates, persimmon cakes, longan, dogwood, etc. on the table. The honey exuding the fragrance of rape blossoms is poured on a plate of walnut cakes, and black tea is also soaked. fast enough.These are all brought by him from Nanyang. They are not very good in appearance, but they are absolutely delicious.Sun Chengzong first tasted a candied date, then stuffed a small walnut cake into his mouth and chewed, then took a sip of black tea and swallowed it, full of praise: "It's delicious, it's so delicious!" The minister of the military department also tasted it One point, it was delicious.

Yang Menglong crossed his legs and said, "This tea is from the Tongbai Mountain Tea Garden. You brought five catties here for you, sir."

Sun Chengzong said cheerfully: "Why do you give five catties for everything? Is it because you are two hundred and five, and you have a special relationship with Wu?"

Yang Menglong snorted: "I'm too lazy to bring more, and I'm too embarrassed to give away less. Five catties is just right." His eyes fell on the military servant who was eating persimmons: "My lord, who is this lord?"

Sun Chengzong said: "I almost forgot to introduce you. This is Fu Zhonglun, the right servant of the Ministry of War. He is from Kunming, Yunnan.

Fu Zhonglun, also known as Fu Zonglong, like Sun Chengzong, started his official career during the Wanli period, and reached the peak of his life during the reign of Tianqi.He started from a small county magistrate, accumulated meritorious service and was promoted to the head of the household department. Although he did not go to Liaoxi, he also showed his military talent.In the fourth year of Tianqi, he led 17 Yunnan soldiers into Guizhou, encircled and suppressed the She'an rebels, and fought all the way to Guiyang City, making great contributions to the suppression of the She'an Rebellion.But like Sun Chengzong, he started to go downhill during the reign of Chongzhen. In the third year of Chongzhen, he was dismissed because of a little sesame, and sat on the bench for seven full years. In the tenth year of Chongzhen, the situation was extremely corrupt. At that time, the big boss thought of him and re-appointed him to go to Sichuan to deal with the bandits. Not long after, he was transferred back to the capital to serve as the Minister of the Ministry of War—yes, that’s right, the Minister of the Ministry of War.In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, even if you were an eunuch, you were better than being a minister of the Ministry of War. Chongzhen changed [-] ministers of the Ministry of War in [-] years, except for Feng Yuanbiao who was allowed to retire until he was too sick to speak. , there is no good end.Fu Zonglong is no exception. When Chongzhen first summoned him when he first took office, he did not talk about the military. Instead, he bluntly said that the people of Ming Dynasty are destitute and starving. That's fine, why bother?It didn't take long before he was dismissed from his post and kicked him into prison to pick up soap.After being imprisoned for two years, the undead Xiaoqiang Li Zicheng became more and more violent in Shaanxi. The big boss couldn't stand it anymore, so he hired him again and asked him to lead the Sichuan army and Shaanxi soldiers to fight against the bandits. Whichever counts.As a result, he was ambushed by the rogues and finally captured. The rogues escorted him and some captured Ming army officers and soldiers, pretending to be the Ming army to defraud the city, trying to trick Xiangcheng into opening the city gate. He suddenly shouted: "I am the governor of Shaanxi. Fu Zonglong, unfortunately, was captured by rogues, and the people around me are all rogues, don’t be fooled by them!” The defenders bombarded them indiscriminately and repelled the rogues, who hated him so much that they brutally killed him. The curse of the Ministry of War Shangshu's death was once again fulfilled on him.

But now, Fu Zonglong's life trajectory has undergone a lot of changes. His old boss, Sun Chengzong, who strongly recommended him to Chongzhen in the third year of Chongzhen, is still alive and kicking under the name of Minister of the Ministry of War. He assists Sun Chengzong in dispatching troops and generals The credits of the rogues blocking the gates of the Central Plains were also quite appreciated by Chongzhen. They were not pushed to the end like in history. With Old Sun covering him, his little life was quite nourishing.It's hard to say where fate will take him in the future.

Yang Menglong saluted Fu Zonglong honestly: "The final general will see Mr. Fu!"

Fu Zonglong smiled wryly: "General Yang doesn't have to be like this, just be more casual... You and Mr. Sun Ge are so casual, but you are so cautious with me, that is slapping me in the face." Although he is really stubborn, he is not I don't know the seriousness, Sun Chengzong's official is much older than him, but Yang Menglong talks to him all the time, and his own official is much younger than Sun Chengzong, but Yang Menglong is respectful, so what should Sun Chengzong think of him?

Yang Menglong chuckled: "It's a matter of etiquette, it's unavoidable."

Sun Chengzong chewed on the walnut cake and asked Yang Menglong, "How is the situation in Nanyang?"

Yang Menglong is proud: "The situation is very good! In the past few months, we have easily sold more than 5 shi of old grain that cannot be sold, and there are also a large amount of iron and cloth. The supply is simply in short supply! Last month, Yes, last month, we earned 20 taels of silver!"

Fu Zonglong's face turned dark: "You actually do business with the rebels?"

Yang Menglong was confident: "They have money, we need a market, why not?"

Fu Zonglong suddenly changed his face, and said: "You are an enemy! You will be punished for the crime of collaborating with the enemy!"

Yang Menglong snorted: "Come on! If you want to talk about capital enemies, none of the officials and gentry in Huguang can jump out. They are the ones who do business with the rebels the most. They sell medicine, food and gunpowder, and some go to suppress the rebellion. The generals even sold rations, cannons, knives and guns to the rebels, and we only sell a little old grain and iron, which is already very polite.”

Fu Zonglong was so angry that his body was shaking slightly: "It's unreasonable, it's really unreasonable, it's simply lawless! I must report to the Holy One..."

Yang Menglong rolled his eyes: "Come on, my lord, what do you know? If I don't provide them with enough food, they will rob the people of their lives, and eventually make more people unable to survive, and then join the rebels ;If I don't earn enough money from them, I won't be able to use the money to farm fields, open up wasteland, set up factories, and absorb refugees, and those refugees who can't find a way to survive will eventually join the rebels without hesitation!"

Fu Zonglong laughed back angrily: "Are you still reasonable? Do you know that it is because of your capital that the rebel army has grown stronger and stronger. In just a few months, it has grown to more than 50 people, broke through Xiangfan, and wiped out the king's family , killed countless officials and gentry?"

Yang Menglong continued to roll his eyes: "That's none of my business? I didn't do it! Let me tell you, those rebels who were executed by the rebels are not good people. It would be unfair to kill them all, but ten kills Lost eight, there must be others missing! The rebels only confiscated 4 taels of silver from the home of the Yiling magistrate, and 60 taels of silver from the treasury of the Xiangyang magistrate. Food, food, it’s beyond counting... They guarded the piles of goods, and the food was moldy in the warehouse, and they refused to take out any food to help the hungry people. In the end, this rebellion broke out. Who can blame? These bastards will die I have no sympathy for them."

This remark was deviant to the extreme, and Fu Zonglong was so shocked that he couldn't speak.Sun Chengzong also changed his face, put his teacup on the table heavily, and sternly said: "Shut up! You are getting bolder and bolder, just for your rebellious words just now, it is enough to kill the whole family, don't you Do you want to cause the whole Nanyang to flow into rivers of blood?"

Yang Menglong said stubbornly: "I'm not wrong! Do you know why there have been more and more refugees in the past century? It's not a natural disaster, it's a man-made disaster! It's them who took the people's fields, and they pushed the taxes they should pay to The common people, sucking the blood and tears of the common people, live a life of rich clothes and fine food! The country raises taxes again and again, which makes it easier for these bastards. Worm's pockets! Those devoid of conscience, officials, gentry, vassals and kings deserve to die! If they don't die, tens of millions of ordinary people will die, and if they don't die, Ming Dynasty will be eaten up by them! Instead of letting tens of millions of ordinary people cry in despair It is better to let their family cry; instead of turning tens of thousands of cities and towns into a hell where there are no people but ghosts crying, it is better to send them to hell!" He snorted, "The whole family of King Xiang was destroyed, what do the court think of me? I don’t know, I only know that the people in Huguang must have breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the rebels for helping them unload a heavy burden!”

Sun Chengzong and Fu Zonglong looked at each other with unnatural expressions... In fact, after learning that King Xiang's family had been killed, the court's first reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief, especially the household department.No way, whoever made those vassal kings parasites, they have to be supported by the state if they don’t do anything, now even if the whole Daming is sold, they can’t afford their salary, King Xiang’s family is punished, but give The court saved a lot of money...

(End of this chapter)