First Minister of Ming Dynasty

"A lackey like you will not be born as a human being, and will not be able to enter the ancestral grave after death. For generations, he will only be despised and scolded by the elders in his hometown."

Zhu Chongba approached Lu Anmin, the distance between the two was less than a foot, their eyes met, Lu Anmin's heart panicked for no reason.

He was furious, gnashed his teeth and cursed: "You are the thieves, just wait for the heavenly soldiers to arrive, and everything will be destroyed!"

"In order to regain the Han family's rivers and mountains, and regain our homeland, we deserve to die!" Zhu Chongba said calmly, "It's you, although you are alive, but you are no different from a pig or a dog. When you die, you will be the ass of Liu Mengyan and Fan Wenhu Little devil in the back. Let’s engrave your words and deeds on the stone tablet now, send it to your hometown, stand beside the ancestor’s grave, and let the ancestors shame you! Even after thousands of years, your descendants will never be able to lift their heads, I can't be a man!"

As Zhu Chongba said, he winked at both sides, and someone immediately agreed to do so.

"you!"

Lu Anmin's old face was flushed red, and he was so angry that his children and grandchildren were not as bad as you, you are too vicious!Today's scholars haven't cultivated the thick skin of ignoring everything. If so, he might as well die!

"You are so vicious!"

In a panic, Lu Anmin took two steps back and sat down on the ground, his forehead was covered with bean-sized cold sweat...

Chapter 6 On Defense

Lu Anmin was dragged out of the commander's mansion, and when he got outside, the people who didn't know where they came from pointed and cursed.Among them was Anfeng who ran over.

"It's this dog. A few years ago, he passed the Jinshi examination. At home, he was very beautiful. A memorial archway was set up for him, and he ate on the running water mat for half a month..."

The imperial examination was suspended for a long time in the Yuan Dynasty, and it was not resumed until the time of Yuan Renzong. Coincidentally, Zhang Yanghao, Zhang Ximeng's uncle, was the chief examiner of the first subject.A total of [-] imperial examinations were held throughout the Yuan Dynasty, and the number of admissions each time was very small.

Therefore, a Jinshi is indeed worthy of special mention.

The elders in my hometown are honored.

However, in a blink of an eye, the Yellow River flooded, and Anfeng was also hit by a disaster. Some people wanted to ask Lu Anmin to help his hometown and ask for tax relief... It's a pity that Lu Anmin didn't dare to fart, but just enjoyed his Yan Ruyu, the golden house.

"You don't care about the life and death of the elders, and now you are acting as a running dog for Yuan Ting! You bastard!"

Somebody grabbed a handful of rotten vegetable leaves and threw them on Lu Anmin's body.

This ignited the emotions, and even the people in Haozhou City were angry. How could they not know the virtues of the court?If these gangs are allowed to enter Haozhou, no one will survive.

If he dares to persuade him to surrender, he will be killed!

In an instant, rotten vegetable leaves, clods of soil, stinky shoes, eggs...everything greeted Lu Anmin.

The red scarf soldiers responsible for dragging Lu Anmin were all affected.

"Folks, if the two armies are at war, if you don't kill the envoy, the commander-in-chief will let us send him out!"

"If you don't kill him, we don't want to kill him, why don't we just spit on him?"

This dignified Jinshi, when he left Haozhou, was covered in filth and his head and face were torn... What made him even more terrified was his reputation in his life. It was completely finished. At least in his hometown in Huaixi, no one would say that he Well, it is really better to kill him!

Contrary to Lu Anmin, Zhu Chongba has never been so beautiful in his life, even if he marries a wife into the bridal chamber, he can't compare to it!

We, a stinky monk who hasn't studied for a few days, scolded a civil official who was born as a Jinshi so that he sat on the ground, sweating profusely, and his face changed, like a dog drowning in water.

What else can I say, just two words: Happy!

Not only was he outraged, Zhu Chongba had been in the Haozhou Red Scarf for less than a year, but because of his outstanding performance in combat, he became the commander's personal soldier, and married the commander's goddaughter. yes.

Naturally, there were a lot of messy discussions. Zhu Chongba's heart was strong enough to bear it, but he also wanted to prove himself.

Refuting Lu Anmin was not just about taking advantage of words.

Jia Lu sent people over to divide the Haozhou Red Scarves, dampen morale, and seize the opportunity.Even if Guo Zixing and others will not surrender, if they are outstretched, they will lose face because of this, and even rumors will spread in the city, shaking the morale of the army.

Who said that war must be fought with swords and soldiers, and envoys exchanged words and swords, which is also a confrontational battle.

Zhu Chongba won a good start for Haozhou.

It wasn't just Guo Zixing who was happy to see this son-in-law, but even other people showed admiration, especially Peng Da, who was even more surprised and appreciative.

Good boy, have courage!

Regardless of our loss in Xuzhou, this time in Haozhou, we have to work hard to win!

Even Guo Zixing looked at his son-in-law differently, and even allowed Zhu Chongba to participate in the discussion. That is to say, a mere nine husbands can express their opinions in front of several marshals, which is a treatment that Guo Zixing's son Guo Tianxu does not have.

He, Mr. Zhu, finally made his mark in the army and became a figure!

……

"Sir, thanks to your teachings, we would like to acknowledge your kindness." Zhu Chongba came back in the evening with two bolts of silk and a small bag of golden beans.

Although the Yuan Dynasty mainly used banknotes, there were still a lot of gold and silver jewelry from rich families. Besides, Peng Da was a handsome man with a red scarf, so it was reasonable to have some gold and silver.Otherwise, it would be a big joke if he gave Zhu Chongba a sack of treasure money!

Zhu Chongba put it in front of Zhang Ximeng, and said seriously: "It was given to us by Peng Da, even if it is Shu Xiu, please accept it, Mister Xiao!"

Zhang Ximeng looked at it and was very moved. After all, how can a normal person calm down when he sees Huang Chengcheng's bag?However, Zhang Ximeng has lofty aspirations, as the confidant of the future emperor, how can he be distracted by a little gold!

"Benefactor rewards, the boy is naturally happy. It's just that if you want to achieve great things, you must be rewarded and punished. It's not good to be stingy with money, but it's not good to give rewards indiscriminately. This time, the benefactor gave too much, and it will make people feel arrogant. Overestimating one's own status. Thinking that without oneself, nothing can be done. If things go on like this, if you don't know how much you can afford, if you act boldly, that's the right way to die."

Zhu Chongba listened silently, seemingly touched, but finally shook his head and smiled.

"Sir, you are teaching us how to be a handsome man!"

Zhang Ximeng rolled his eyelids, the layout is too small, isn't it!

I am teaching you to be an emperor!

Zhu Chongba breathed out, reached out and grabbed a dozen heavy golden beans, and stuffed them directly into Zhang Ximeng's hands, and then asked directly without waiting for him to refute: "Sir, how do you see how to defend Haozhou next?" ?”

Zhang Ximeng was slightly taken aback, thinking in his heart, and stuffed the golden beans into his sleeve at the same time.

"Grandpa, the Art of War says knowing yourself, knowing your enemy, and winning every battle, what do you think of Jia Lu?"

Zhu Chongba paused, and then said: "We are also a little confused. It stands to reason that people hate opening rivers and exchanging money. This Jia Lu is in charge of repairing rivers. We should hate him so much that we can't wait to eat his money." Meat. But we thought about it again. Isn’t it more sinful if the Yellow River bursts and the river is not repaired? We heard people say that Jia Lu is still an expert in river engineering, and he is a clean official. There are many things that he can’t say .”

Zhang Ximeng nodded again and again, "Grandfather, the Yuan court has already been corrupted from top to bottom. At this time, no matter right or wrong, as long as you do it, the good will turn bad, and the bad will get worse! This is probably the case when the dynasty is at its last moment."

Zhu Chongba frowned, and said slowly after a long while: "Sir, does this mean that Jia Lu is a good official?"

"But he works for the Yuan court and serves as the eagle dog of the Yuan court. The more capable he is, the greater the harm!" Zhang Ximeng said solemnly: "I heard that for the purpose of building the river, a dozen or so state capitals on both sides of the Yellow River mobilized several One hundred thousand...Jia Lu may not be very good at fighting, but he definitely has the ability to dispatch troops, build equipment, and besiege cities, not only has, but is also very strong!"

Zhu Chongba thought about it seriously, and nodded immediately, "That's right, sir, this Jia Lu is a great enemy. Sir, the commander allowed us to participate in the discussion in the commander's hall, what do you think we should do?"

Zhang Ximeng said: "Grandfather, we're done talking about knowing the enemy, let's talk about confidantes. I've thought about some battles, and it's actually good for the defenders."

"Tell me in detail." Zhu Chongba leaned forward, approached Zhang Ximeng, and asked for advice seriously.

"Leaving aside, during the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu besieged Hefei several times. Hefei had an army of 150, but it could not hold down a few thousand people. There was also Zhang Xun of the Anshi Rebellion, who defended Suiyang for ten months and continued the Tang Dynasty. 250 years. Even in the Jingkang period, Taiyuan Wang Zhi blocked the Jinren West Road army for more than 10,000 days. These are thousands of people, fighting against tens of thousands, or even [-]+ battles. The city is not difficult!"

Zhu Chongba immediately asked: "How to dispatch? How to employ people?"

"First of all, it's natural to work together, to make the same iron barrels built in the city. Arrange people to patrol day and night, divide areas, and patrol in sections. People are not allowed to come and go at will, and gossip is not allowed to disturb the morale of the army. For those who spread rumors and dispel morale Yes, we must be severely punished." Zhang Ximeng paused, and then said: "After all, the most important thing for defending the city is food and ordnance. We must control the food in the city and implement a strict distribution system...to ensure the food of the soldiers. We must also let the people have a stutter, and we must strictly guard against hoarding and driving up prices. All in all, as long as you are stable, let alone Jia Lu, even if the prime minister Tuotuo leads the soldiers, you may not be able to capture Haozhou!"

After Zhang Ximeng talked about it, Zhu Zhongba nodded repeatedly.

"Little Mister, every sentence hits the nail on the head, you, you are under our command, you are really a talent!"

Zhang Ximeng laughed and shook his head, "Your benefactor is wrong. There are thousands of things he can say, but none of them can accomplish anything. The safety of Haozhou depends entirely on benefactor!"

Zhu Chongba gradually clenched his fists. He remembered the tense scene of Xiao Shu and Zhang Ximeng in the market, and couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling.

"Little mister, let's go see the commander-in-chief now!"

Zhu Chongba turned around and left, Zhang Ximeng had a premonition that someone might be in trouble.

Chapter 7 Ruthless Zhu Chongba

Facts have proved that Zhang Ximeng's premonition was still wrong, because it was not that someone was unlucky, but someone's head fell to the ground, and his family was destroyed!

Zhu Chongba went to the commander's mansion all night, discussing strategies to deal with the officers and soldiers.

On the next morning, Zhang Ximeng held a copy of "Mencius" and studied it patiently.At this moment, Mu Ying ran in.

The little guy blushed like an apple, and bumped in from the outside. Zhang Ximeng couldn't help shaking his head, you brat, you can't be more stable, read more when you have time, and don't run around all day long.

It's a pity that Mu Ying can't fulfill Zhang Ximeng's wish. Although he also knows that reading and literacy are important, he just can't sit still.On the contrary, it is the godfather's swords and guns, which are the kid's favorite, and he is always fumbling around, drooling.

Zhu Chongba was afraid that he would hurt himself, so he got a wooden knife for Mu Ying. The kid couldn't put it down, and even slept with it.With his virtue, there is little hope of being the number one scholar.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang!" Mu Ying exclaimed excitedly, "Godfather has arrested several grain merchants and tied them to the street. I heard that they will beheaded!"

Zhang Ximeng was taken aback subconsciously, is Lao Zhu so aggressive?After a pause, Zhang Ximeng said to Muying, "You little child, stay at home first, I'll go and have a look!"

"I'm going too!" Mu Yingcai didn't want to be bored at home!

"Why are you joining in the fun? Beheading, aren't you afraid?"

Zhang Ximeng wanted to scare Mu Ying, but he was wrong. Although Mu Ying was young, he had probably seen more killings than Zhang Ximeng.

There is no way but to take to the streets with a tail.

They rushed to the intersection in a hurry. At this time, many people from the city had gathered from all directions. They surrounded the middle with three floors inside and three floors outside.

Zhang Ximeng and Zhang Ximeng were wrapped in the crowd, and they could only see the back of the head of the person in front of them. There was nothing they could do in a hurry.

At this moment, Zhu Chongba and Tang He were escorting a few grain merchants. When they arrived at the street, a soldier from the Red Scarf Army borrowed a teahouse seat and set up a temporary table. Zhu Chongba came up first.

Old Zhu stood taller, so Zhang Ximeng could see him, but there were more and more people, but Zhu Chongba couldn't see Zhang Ximeng, and he was the only one to deal with this matter.

At the head of the grain merchant was an old man over half a century old, with a gray beard and dressed in silk, he looked like a decent rich man.Many common people know him. His surname is Jiang. He is a well-known grain merchant in Haozhou. His family is rich and unusual.

Facing Zhu Chongba, Jiang was not afraid of him. On the contrary, the old man gritted his teeth and suddenly sneered, "I know who you are? Aren't you the son-in-law of Marshal Guo? You got married a few months ago, old man." And went to drink wedding wine!"

Zhu Chongba's face was sullen, he was still an unknown person at that time, so people naturally looked at Guo Zixing and his wife's face, there were quite a few guests, he was not sure if there was this one, Zhu Chongba was too lazy Tube.

"There is no need to ramble... Let me ask you, why are you unwilling to sell food even though you have it? Also, you tripled the price in one day, can you still let the common people live?"

Faced with the scolding, the face of the grain merchant surnamed Jiang changed, but he was still not afraid, "Mr. Zhu, this old man is in business. He buys low and sells high, and he earns this amount of money. I don't short taxes. If you don't believe me, you can Go ask Marshal Guo, go ask Young Marshal Guo!"

This person has repeatedly used Guo Zixing to pressure Zhu Chongba, and he swears that he really has something to do with Guo Zixing.Tang He on the side gave Zhu Chongba winks frequently, but he didn't know that Zhu Chongba was standing still.

"I don't want to ask you this, I just want to say the same thing. In front of the enemy, you are hoarding and driving up the price of grain, making people in the city panic. Could it be that you want to hand over Haozhou to the Yuan Tartars?"

When asked by Zhu Chongba, the grain merchant surnamed Jiang was stunned for a moment. He could clearly feel unkind eyes from all directions.

Ever since the news spread that the imperial court had sent Jia Lu to attack Haozhou, people in the city were in panic, and the price of food changed three times a day.After Lu Anmin's arrival, the increase was the most dramatic, and the common people complained a lot.

Not to mention whether there is a war or not, food is such a thing, two meals a day, if you eat one less meal, you will be hungry.

Most of the failures in defending the city were due to insufficient food and people starved to death.

"Old man, this old man and Yuan Ting are not of the same mind, how can you help them?" The grain merchant surnamed Jiang thought for a while, and then understood Zhu Chongba's meaning, "I know, the war is imminent, and food is needed. I am willing to donate five Give the hundred stones to Marshal Guo as military rations, and ask Young Master Zhu to pass on to Marshal Guo."

Five hundred shi is not a small amount, but Zhu Chongba shook his head.

"Then, what about eight hundred stones? One thousand stones is fine!"

Zhu Chongba still shook his head.

The grain merchant surnamed Jiang is also confused, what kind of variety is this?

You are arresting grain merchants and making such a big battle, don't you just want us to sell some grain?OK, I will give you this!

Even for the sake of the commander-in-chief, you should hold your hand high and reward you with a way to survive!

"Master Zhu, don't be too greedy!"

Zhu Chongba sneered, "We won't go around in circles with you anymore. From now on, every grain store, how much grain it has in stock, and how much it sells every day will be under our control!"

After Zhu Chongba finished speaking, he turned his head to look at all the people, and bowed his hands at the big guy.

"Fathers and folks, we know that the big guys are afraid and worry about not having food. We also know that it's not good to be hungry. Since we were young, we haven't had enough food for a few days."

Zhu Chongba's words caused a burst of laughter, and the eyes of the people looked at him a lot softer. Obviously, this is a person who knows the sufferings of the people.

"Let's think about it. Every family buys grain once every five days, up to ten catties at a time. Maybe it's a little less, but in this situation, you can't eat with your belly open. You have to save. But don't worry, everyone. , all at a par price, and will not harm the folks!"

After Zhu Chongba finished speaking, the surrounding people began to calculate silently.

Once every five days, ten catties at a time, that is to say, two catties of grain a day.

Calculated on average for a family of four, each person has half a catty of food per day.

If you catch up with the busy farming season and work all day, half a catty of grain will not be enough to feed a strong laborer.There is no way, in the era of severe shortage of non-staple food and oil, everyone is a cook, it is really edible!

But then again, if you have half a catty of food, you can't starve to death, and there are old and young in the family, and it can be averaged.

The most important thing is that the food is cheap. At this juncture, can we expect more?

"Master Zhu, do you mean what you say?"

Someone dared to ask.

Zhu Zhongbalang said: "The enemy is in front of us. The soldiers and civilians in the city are all one family. Even if there is only one grain of rice, we should share it! You can't starve to death! It's just that the soldiers have to fight and risk their lives. Empty The stomach cannot drive away the Yuan Tartars. Folks, think about it, if the Yuan soldiers come in, what will happen to Haozhou City? At that time, men, women and children will either be killed, or robbed and humiliated, and reduced to slaves and livestock. Would you like it?"