In Wuchang City, according to the advice of the Chief Minister Yang Shiqi, the official offices of the Cabinet Office have been moved into the Wangjing Gate of the Chu Palace. A house that was originally very inconspicuous in the palace, after approaching the foyer, there is a lobby in the front and two large and small rooms in the back.

Thirty rooms, with floor.

The house has been rearranged. A statue of Confucius is enshrined in the lobby, with seats on both sides. It is still very different from the lobby of ordinary government offices. The biggest difference is that there is no public seat for the superiors. When discussing matters, both princes and ministers sit on both sides. This is Zhang

Ning behaves in a low-key manner. If he sits on top and ministers bow down below, how will it be any different from worshiping in the upper court?

There is a two-story building behind the lobby, which houses archives and study rooms.

The days have gradually entered May, and the heat of summer has become very obvious. Various insects are noisy among the green leaves and trees, and mosquito bites are occasionally seen.

When Zhang Ning walked slowly down the corridor of this house, he accidentally had an epiphany: It is usually very difficult for people to enter the Chu Palace. If the center moves further into the palace, several cabinet ministers will become more and more difficult.

It's important.

He had just returned from the lobby in front. Not long ago, he and several cabinet ministers gathered in the lobby to happily hold a small meeting about the good news sent from Jiangxi.

As soon as Yu Qian led his army to Jiujiang City, he used thunderous means to secure the important town. He killed the garrison Wang Shishun and hundreds of people below, gathered tens of thousands of Han soldiers, and quickly controlled the situation around Jiujiang. Then Yu Qian boldly

Using the newly recruited army of the King of Han, he selected the Jingzhuang and Yongding battalions to form a coalition force and quickly threatened Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Chief Secretary, and descended on Nanchang in three days. Once in Nanchang, Yu Qian reported that the whole of Jiangxi would be at peace soon, and it was expected that many cities would surrender without a fight.

After conquering the city by force, Yu Qian was also a good means to win over and unite the local scholar-bureaucrats. He was not only a Jinshi, but also a Jiangxi native. It was easy to win the trust of local officials and people. The situation of the Jiangxi Chief Envoy was excellent.

The main purpose of the cabinet discussion was to express merit for Yu Qian and discuss how to reward him. Several ministers in Wuchang were naturally happy to hear such things: Needless to say, Yang Shiqi had a teacher-student relationship with Yu Qian. Zhu Heng recommended Yu Qian, and Zheng

Qia would not have any objection if he did not want to have a grudge with Yang Shiqi and others.

However, there are two other letters in Zhang Ning's study. They are letters exchanged between Monk Yao and Zhou Mengxiong. They both mentioned things about Jiangxi. The two men are military generals and also serve as cabinet ministers. Their attitudes this time are surprisingly similar.

There was some criticism of Qian. Outside Jiujiang City, the Han king's general Wang Shishun and as many as hundreds of people were trapped and killed. Yao Zhou and others thought it was a mistake that would bring great trouble to other generals in the future. Zhou Mengxiong even bluntly said that the Jiujiang army tens of thousands

The direct recruitment of all the people would create a situation that would be difficult to control, which hinted that Yu Qian had no intention of harming the Suzaku Army.

There is no need for Yao Zhou to "slander", Zhang Ning does not absolutely trust Yu Qian, but of course he can only reward him according to the reason, not the other way around. Otherwise, if a minister has achieved great success outside, the superiors behind him will persecute him because of suspicion.

, isn’t it the work of the faint master? How to explain it to the world? Since Zhang Ning decided to use Qian, it was already destined not to treat him like this.

...A few days later, the general at Pass reported that the King of Han was on an envoy to Wuchang. The Cabinet Office in the Chu Palace dealt with the matter and first recommended Liang Yan, an official from the Ministry of Rites, to be responsible for receiving the envoy, because it was reported that the envoy was the left chief of the Han Palace.

Shi Wang Changwen, according to the law, has the status of the fifth rank, so it is completely polite to receive him with Liang Yan.

Wang Changwen was first placed in the former imperial court residence, and after some inquiries and investigations, it was confirmed that although this person also had the surname Wang and was from the Han Dynasty, he had nothing to do with the Wang Shishun family who was killed in Jiujiang.

However, although this man was only of the fifth rank, he was indeed a true confidant to the King of Han. Before Zhu Gaoxu raised an army, he was the long history in charge of everything in the palace.

The princes in the cabinet had already guessed that the King of Han had no choice but to send his confidants to ask for help. However, Wang Changwen did not explain the specific explanation. He just kept urging Liang Yan, who received him, to arrange a meeting with the King of Xiang as soon as possible.

Zhang Ning finally agreed to meet Wang Changwen.

It was arranged that one morning, Wang Changwen was taken into the Chu Palace and went to the cabinet lobby to meet the King of Xiang. As soon as he entered the lobby, he saw Zhang Ning sitting in the top position on the left, acting as if he was sitting on an equal footing with the ministers. Wang Changwen immediately

I felt a little surprised; but when I thought that there was an emperor in name only in Huguang, and the prince could only be a minister, I could barely figure it out.

When Zhang Ning saw Wang Changwen for the first time, for some reason he remembered a person he had known a long time ago: Wu Yong. Although he didn't look like him, it was probably because this Wang Changwen was also fat, fat, broad and kind-hearted.

Wang Changwen did not care about the direction of Zhang Ning's seat, and knelt down on the ground: "I pay homage to the King of Xiang."

Zhang Ning made a supporting gesture: "No, no, just get up and talk."

Wang Changwen couldn't get up, and when he spoke, his expression suddenly became sad: "I implore the King of Xiang to send troops to rescue my King of Han as soon as possible... The official army broke through Caishiji a month ago, and Xuan soldiers and horses swarmed across the river through the gap.

After dozens of large and small battles in the past month, our army has been defeated, and Nanjing is almost an isolated city in danger."

"The situation has become like this, how can I save you?" Zhang Ning blurted out.

Wang Changwen said: "I heard that some of King Xiang's elite troops were already in Jiujiang, and he killed the rebel general Wang Shishun and collected all his troops. There are tens of thousands of soldiers in Jiujiang who can fight. As long as King Xiang gives the order, Jiujiang troops will be transferred to the east, and the liberation of Jiujiang will be solved."

The siege of Nanjing is expected to..."

After hearing this, Zhang Ning, Yang Shiqi and others looked at each other in confusion, as if they both knew what they were thinking: Why should we risk going deep alone to rescue the King of Han?

Wang Changwen kowtowed a few times and continued hurriedly: "In the past, the king of Hunan regarded Lord Jianwen as the orthodox one, and the ceremony was different from that of my king. But in fact, we always lived in peace with each other, and they responded to each other and corresponded to the northern army of the imperial court. This is because Xiang

Both the king and the king of Han knew the danger of death. Now the king of Han is in danger. Once Nanjing falls, the entire east side will be pacified by the imperial court. At that time, the officers and soldiers will move up the river, and there will be no danger to defend Huguang. The king of Xiang has no response barrier in the east, so he can only

It is dangerous to deal with the imperial officers and soldiers in a corner by yourself. If you are willing to protect the King of Han, you will gain everything and not suffer any harm."

Zhang Ning shook his head and sighed: "What Wang Changshi said makes sense, but we have already rescued us if we could, so why wait until now? What you said about killing Wang Shishun and taking his troops is true, but Wang Shishun took the initiative.

His nephew Wang Bin came to Wuchang to surrender. We have helped the King of Han to kill this person. This matter is well-founded and is not just what the king said. Even if we had not killed Wang Shishun, he would not have led his troops back to Nanjing to help Nanjing and suffer the consequences.

"

Yang Shiqi also echoed: "The Jiujiang army has lost its commander in the new rebellion, and the morale of the army is unstable; the number of Zhuque troops in Jiangxi is too small, and they are defeated by the elite troops of Xuanda. What's more, Jiangxi is not stable, and many places have not surrendered yet. Military food supplies

The manpower recruitment is not working well. If our army marches from Jiangxi, the rear will be unstable. Nanjing has become an isolated city. Our army rushes thousands of miles in a hurry. It also needs to deal with the elite soldiers of Xuanda on the periphery. It cannot rescue the main city of Nanjing in time... The current situation

, it’s really powerless.”

"We have heard that the Huguang Suzaku Army is capable of fighting well, and the Beijing camp is not a rival yet. Now the prince and the princes sit back and do nothing, either because they have to or because they do not want to!" Wang Changwen's face turned red and he became excited, "If the prince does not agree to send troops, I, my ministers, will

I don’t have the nerve to go back and meet the King of Han, so I will die in this hall today to repay the prince for his kindness..."

He didn't just say that, he stood up and instead of trying to bully Zhang Ning, he turned around and walked towards a pillar.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Ning hurriedly called to the guard at the door: "Hurry and hold him."

When Wang Changwen saw the guard coming in, he was so anxious that he not only stopped, but also accelerated his pace and hit the pillar. It was too late to stop him when the incident happened. He only heard a "bang" and he actually took it.

His head hit the pillar, leaving a bloody mark on it, and he fell down.

Even Yang Shiqi and other veterans stood up from their seats in surprise. At this time, the guard came to Wang Changwen's side, but there was no need to pull him over, so he had to turn him over to see if he was dead.

"Call the doctor to come and save you." Zhang Ning ordered hurriedly, and then walked to the pillar to look at the person. Wang Changwen's white forehead was covered with blood, and the blood was still flowing, but there was still movement in his eyeballs, which seemed to be fine.

Killed.

Yang Shiqi, Zhu Heng and others also gathered around. Yang Shiqi frowned and said: "We treat each other with courtesy, and the King of Xiang also received us personally. How could Wang Changshi do this? If he died in Wuchang, wouldn't it mean that we are mean to others?"

Wang Changwen woke up faintly, and regardless of what others were talking to him, he tried to get up and hit the pillar again. Of course he couldn't succeed this time, as there were many people around him.

The guard held down his arm to prevent him from moving, and Zhang Ning finally persuaded him: "You were sent by the King of Han as an envoy to Wuchang, so you are of no use at all. It was just the King of Han who forced you to seek medical treatment in a hurry. If you are in Huguang

In this position, would you send troops to rescue Nanjing in this situation? No one would do that! The destruction of Nanjing and the defeat of the Han Dynasty is a foregone conclusion. Wang Changwen cannot change the situation. Instead of doing this, it is better to stay.

How about finding another way out in Huguang?"

Wang Changwen calmed down for a long time, and then said weakly: "I accept your prince's kindness..."

After hearing this, Zhu Heng said: "Wang Changshi has always lived in the palace of the King of Han. I didn't have much contact with you before, but today I actually admire you very much. If the King of Han were surrounded by people like Wang Changshi, how could I draw the river back then?"

And how did the great situation of governing hundreds of thousands of troops end up today?"

At this moment, a gray-bearded doctor was brought in by the guards. Zhang Ning waved his hand: "Wang Changshi is not in fear of his life. You can carry him down and prescribe medicine for treatment."

The guards were busy sending people to find a stretcher, and a formal meeting with the envoy ended up in a mess.
Chapter completed!