If it weren't for the rise of Xia Nan, Wu Sangui's promotion speed would be the best in the entire Ming Dynasty. He was only 20 years old when he participated in the Shandong counterinsurgency, and he had been promoted to guerrilla by virtue of his military exploits, and in just a few years, he was successively promoted to the general of the right battalion of the forward, and the deputy chief soldier of the right battalion of the forward, and in the eighth year of Chongzhen, he was promoted to the chief soldier of the Ningyuan regiment by Fang Yizao, the governor of Liaodong, and the eunuch Gao Qiqian, the eunuch of the imperial horse, and reported to the imperial court for approval to be promoted to the general soldier of the Ningyuan regiment. It's just that under the backdrop of Xia Nan, Wu Sangui's light seems a little dim - the former in five or six years, from a white Ding to the Pingnan Marquis, Zuo Dudu, Qionghai Town General Army, and the crown prince Shaobao, Ci Da General, which is unprecedented in the entire history of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years.

At this time, Wu Sangui was not the pillar of the imperial court that Chongzhen could rely on for seventeen years - in another time and space, in 1644, Wu Sangui was the official to the Liaodong General Army, was named Ping Xibo, and had the strongest border army Guanning Army, which was the only force that the Ming Dynasty could rely on at that time - Chongzhen was very skeptical that this 24-year-old young man could afford to resist hundreds of thousands of Dashun troops and even clamp down on the Qiong Navy, and he asked suspiciously: "I know that this person, Zu Dashou's nephew and Wu Xiang's son, even if he has some military merits, how can he take on this great responsibility?" If you want to recruit the Guan Ning army, wouldn't it be more appropriate to directly summon the ancestor Dashou Qin King? ”

Yang Sichang sighed and replied: "Your Majesty, after the battle of the Daling River, Zu Dashou first surrendered to the Tartars, and then fled back, allegedly by fraud, but His Majesty issued an edict three times in succession, ordering him to enter Beijing to meet him. Whether it is to beware of His Majesty's reckoning with old accounts, or to support the army and respect himself, if he is recruited to lead the army to the king, most of them will delay in every possible way, and consume time on the way, it is better to recruit Wu Sangui. This person is different from his uncle Zu Dashou, he is young and vigorous, it is the time when the newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, and it is easier to control, as long as he is allowed to be famous, he is not afraid of not being moved. ”

Chongzhen was a little moved when he heard this, and asked, "Will Zu Dashou make a hindrance from this?" What should I be rewarded? ”

Although Zu Dashou is suspected of supporting the army and respecting himself, he is far from being an enemy of the imperial court, and he does not dare to come, but he may not be able to prevent Wu Sangui from coming to King Qin. As for what to reward...... Yang Sichang took a long breath, took two steps back, lifted his official robe and knelt down, and said solemnly, "On the occasion of this crisis, I ask Your Majesty to give you a reward: for Wu Sangui to add the right governor, to seal Xibo, and on this condition, recruit him to come to King Jingqin." ”

Another knighted general! Chongzhen's eyelids jumped a few times.

He was silent for a while, and asked Wang Chengen behind him: "Wang Companion, they all say that the bystanders are clear, but you tell me that it is appropriate to give such a heavy reward before you have made meritorious service?" ”

Wang Chengen hesitated and said: "The south of the Ming Dynasty has been out of the summer and it is already very difficult to control, and the Guanning army has been the head of the border army in recent years, and the salary and military rations are more than those of other border towns. But ......"

Chongzhen asked, "But what?" ”

"Long live the slave and maid said bluntly: whether you are loyal to the court and the long live lord has little to do with whether the reward is too heavy, but depends on a person's character. In the summer, Nan was born at the grassroots level, and he was used to lawlessness, just like the Monkey King who made Bi Ma Wen, he was definitely unwilling to be controlled; And Wu Sangui has been a general, and his character should be much better than that of Xia Nan. Perhaps giving a heavy reward will make him forget for a while, but it is not a big problem, the most important thing is to be loyal enough. Therefore, the slave maid thought that Yang Butang's proposal was very good. ”

Yang Sichang didn't care about the loss of honor in front of the king, and clapped his hands and applauded: "My father-in-law analyzes the ground and enters the wood for three points, and he admires the weakness." ”

Chongzhen trusts Wang Chengen very much, so naturally he will not suspect him of colluding with foreign ministers, and saying that he agrees with such a clear banner also shows that he is upright in his heart.

He pondered for a while, nodded and said, "Since this is the case, according to what Wen Qiao said, I will wait for you to draft the decree on my behalf." However, I still have one more question: even if Wu Sangui arrives in the capital before Xia Nan, why do you believe that Wu Sangui can repel the hundreds of thousands of rebels? ”

Yang Sichang showed a smile that was rarely seen in his usual life, and replied: "Your Majesty, if you think that the Qiong Navy is arrogant, it is nothing more than relying on the sharpness of firearms. The minister learned from Fang Yizao, the governor of Liaodong, that Wu Sangui and his son had purchased thousands of bird guns and small cannons from Qionghai Town, Guangdong, which were no different from those used by the Qiong Navy. ”

Chongzhen was pleasantly surprised: "Wu Sangui purchased firearms from Qionghai Town? That's great. He and Yang Sichang had similar concepts, thinking that as long as they had the same weapons and the strong cavalry of the Guanning Army, it was natural for them to reach and surpass the Qiong Navy. But neither of them knew that the real strength of the Qiong Navy was the modern army system, which the old army simply could not match.

He paced excitedly while complaining: "Okay, you Yang Wenweak, you didn't tell me early in this kind of news!" ”

Yang Sichang hurriedly lowered his head: "Your Majesty forgives you." The minister also happened to learn from Fang Yizao's twists and turns today, and he didn't have time to report it yet. ”

Chongzhen waved his hand, and with good news, he didn't care about some details.

"Hurry up and prepare a decree for me: give Wu San Guiping Xibo, add the right governor, still train the general army for the Ningyuan regiment, and the deputy general of Liaodong Town, and set off immediately to enter the king of Beijing Qin!"

The deputy general is equivalent to the deputy general soldier, with the Ningyuan regiment training chief soldier and the deputy general of Liaodong Town, this seemingly strange appointment is actually a hidden scheming: the Ningyuan regimental training chief soldier is a miscellaneous general soldier, and the grade has gone up, but in terms of influence and actual status, it is definitely far inferior to Liaodong Town, the head of the nine border towns. Let Wu Sangui concurrently serve as the deputy general of Liaodong Town, from the perspective of the old time and space, it is the head of a second-level institution of a department who also serves as the deputy of the department, increasing its influence and right to speak, and theoretically it can be corrected and replaced by the head of the department. In this way, he not only encouraged Wu Sangui, but also quietly beat Zu Dashou.

Yang Sichang savored it, comprehended the mystery, admired Chongzhen's increasingly mature skills, and praised: "Your Majesty is very good. "If this appointment is fought for by Zu Dashou and others for Wu Sangui, the meaning will be very different. And appointed by the imperial court, even if Zu Dashou is Wu Sangui's uncle, he can't avoid suspicion.

A holy decree was freshly released, and it was sent to Ningyuan in an expedited manner for eight hundred miles. Ping Xibo, who originally appeared eight years later, came out ahead of schedule because of the existence of Xia Nan, and Wu Sangui's fate was also pushed forward by Shengsheng for eight years. What awaits him is half a lifetime of glory and wealth, or a bottomless abyss, no one knows.