At that time, the Runing army was on the way to retreat, and the local people in Ruzhou, except for those who entered the city and hid in the mountains to protect themselves, the rest were looted by the Runing army.

From a military point of view, the actions of the Runing Army were very necessary, both in terms of manpower and material supply, the fortified wall and clear the field cut off the replenishment of the peasant rebel army, forming a vacuum, preventing the peasant rebel army from attacking the area controlled by the Runing army.

From the point of view of self-interest, the Runing Army also added a large number of coolies and materials for themselves by doing so.

From a political point of view, this is a both. Because the Runing Army did this, there was a step missing in the procedure, that is, it did not get the approval of the local civilian officials.

Of course, if you go to the local civil service to make up for it afterwards, this kind of mistake can also be turned a blind eye. But in such a short period of time, it was impossible for the Runing Army to send someone with heavy gifts to make up for the relationship, coupled with the leadership of Li Bingbeidao, a round of impeachment against the Runing Army and Qingye began.

In the fortified wilderness at that time, the actions of the Runing army must not be gentle and considerate, and those people also had fierce resistance to leaving their hometowns, so the Runing army must have used knives to persuade them. Saying that the Runing Army brutalized the people is not a wrongful accusation.

Moreover, Li Bingbei was bad, and in his impeachment recital, he fiercely criticized the large number of local people among the prisoners captured by the Runing Army, and implied that among the heads cut by the Runing Army, there were also a large number of good people who killed good and risked their merits. Therefore, the whole piece is full of suspicions about the victory of the Runing army in Ruzhou.

Don't say that Li Bingbeidao's impeachment is quite lethal, and his speculation is reasonable, even if he did not fabricate the facts. It fully reflects the profound skills of an old officialdom to play with words.

And after so many years, although the Shanchuan Division can't open up the situation with high-ranking officials in Henan, it has bought some low-level officials in the major yamen. In order to show that his impeachment was not a personal vendetta, but a great duke's selflessness, Li Bingbeidao was also a bright impeachment recital, so as soon as this recital changed hands in Henan Governor's Yamen and the political envoy's yamen, the fast horse of the Shanchuan Division passed the news back to Runing Mansion.

Seeing this information from the Shanchuan Division, Deng Qifan was in a hurry, and he found Wu Shigong and said, "My lord, should we also send someone to the capital to dredge it." In case Li Bingbeidao's impeachment provokes the emperor's fire, our Runing Army will not have good fruit to eat! ”

Wu Shigong thought about it carefully, shook his head and rejected Deng Qifan's suggestion: "Mr. Deng, the capital is a bottomless pit, how much silver should we throw into it?" Again. In a verbal lawsuit with a civil servant, we are inherently at a disadvantage. ”

"But there's no need to rush. Li Bingbei said no matter how wonderful the pen is. It is also impossible to deny that the victory in Ruzhou is nothing more than a controversy over the size of the results. In this eventful season, the emperor and the court will never blame us too much for winning the battle. ”

"Some trivial punishments don't matter. At most, the credit that should be given to us is less than two pounds. Ranks are not uncommon for us, and the only relatively large loss is the reduction of the number of troops that should have been increased. But what does this have to lose us? We will not be able to receive the salary of 1,200 soldiers, even if we are paid 12,000 soldiers. Instead, we have no desire and have just gotten up. ”

"But Mr. Deng is also right, we also have to guard against it. If Li Bingbei goes too far, we must also protect ourselves, and we can't let my Runing army suffer too much. ”

So Wu Shigong began to carry out self-protection actions. It's not a good idea to refute it directly. That is, it exposes those secret agents of the Shanchuan Division who finally laid nails in the yamen, and they may not be able to play with Li Bingbeidao and other civil officials in the pen and ink lawsuit. So Wu Shigong simply started to pretend to be stupid.

Wu Shigong pretended not to know about the impeachment of Li Bingbeidao and Ruzhou officials. He first wrote a private letter and sent someone to send it to Father-in-law Qin in the capital.

In this private letter, Wu Shigong wrote it himself, using a very vernacular language.

First of all, Wu Shigong said bluntly: This letter is not only for the good friend of Gonggong Qin to learn about the situation of the local and peasant rebels in Henan, but also to hope that Gonggong Qin will convey the content of this letter to the ears of Emperor Chongzhen and the princes of the imperial court. Because this is the opinion of a military attache who knew the local situation in Henan, fought head-on with the peasant rebels, and had first-hand information.

Moreover, Wu Shigong also used a large space in the letter to recall the bits and pieces of his interaction with Gonggong Qin in the capital, expressing his longing for his hometown in the capital, as well as the mourning for his mother's funeral and the guilt of not being able to fulfill his filial piety. The language is very plain, but the feelings are deep in the heart.

Wu Shigong also pointed out his identity after being a noble, implying that his noble family and the Ming Empire are closely related, sharing honor and disgrace. expressed his loyalty to the Ming Empire.

Wu Shigong played these emotional cards, of course, he would not expect that political veterans like Gonggong Qin would believe in any friendship, his main purpose was to make Emperor Chongzhen and Gonggong Qin think that he actually wanted to return to the capital as soon as possible to enjoy happiness and return to Yangwuhou Mansion to reunite with his family.

Therefore, if Emperor Chongzhen removed Wu Shigong and them, the military attaches of the Runing Army, Wu Shigong and them would be in the right place. And after such a desire to capture the old people, Emperor Chongzhen punished the Runing army at most, and finally left Wu Shigong and them in Runing Mansion.

Then, in his letter, Wu Shigong gave a detailed account of the situation of the local and peasant rebels in Henan. And this part of the content Wu Shigong wrote in great detail. Anyway, to tell the truth, not to exaggerate, not to embellish, not to omit, is to tell Qin Gonggong the true situation in Henan.

Of course, Wu Shigong highlighted the situation of Henan being full of displaced people and abandonment, and also described the situation of thieves rampant in Henan. The reason why this point is highlighted is to let Emperor Chongzhen and Gonggong Qin understand that the people of Henan are actually inseparable from thieves, and their identities will change at any time, so the purpose of the Runing Army to capture those local people is to prevent them from joining the peasant rebel army.

Then Wu Shigong introduced the situation of the Runing Army to Gonggong Qin. Anyway, he sighed bitterly first, focusing on the fact that Henan had suffered from a four-year drought, and the Henan Military Preparation Dao Yamen had not paid military salaries for several years.

However, Wu Shigong also expressed his understanding of the financial tension of the imperial court, so he expressed his determination that the Runing army would overcome such difficulties and grit his teeth and do his best for the Ming Empire.

Wu Shigong also introduced that Li Lu's Yexian battalion and Zhao Ming's Guide Dewei had achieved a three-in-one alliance with Wu Shigong's Runing army. They will command together, advance and retreat together, and ensure the tranquility of these garrisons. However, due to the great loss of Ruzhou's victory, the Runing Army was not able to take the initiative in a short period of time. Therefore, please understand Emperor Chongzhen and the imperial court. Because it was not easy for the Runing army to win the victory of Ruzhou in the case of lack of food and clothing.

Wu Shigong suggested to the imperial court that the most appropriate way to exterminate the wandering peasant rebels was to defend the area and press on the whole field.

What does this mean? It was to divide the garrisons of the various local military attaches into their own areas, and those local military attaches would ensure the security of their garrisons and prevent the entry of the peasant rebels.

And the imperial court will establish an encirclement and suppression corps, follow the peasant rebel army to continue to encircle and suppress, and there is no need to think about the victory or defeat of the first battle, that is, to constantly harass the battle, so that the peasant rebel army will not have a chance to breathe. In the long run, the area of the peasant rebels' activities will become smaller and smaller, and their personnel and supplies will not be replenished, and although the time and cost of encirclement and suppression may be greater, the peasant rebels can be wiped out once and for all.

Of course, Wu Shigong not only wrote this private letter himself, but he also sent someone to the mine supervisor Ye Zhong to state the interests and cons, and asked him to also write to his backer Wang Chengen.

Wu Shigong promised Ye Zhong that although Ye Zhong's Nanyang iron mine had to be stopped due to the threat of the peasant rebels and the bandits they left behind, Wu Shigong still guaranteed Ye Zhong's annual dividends from the private iron mine in Ye County.

In addition, Wu Shigong also analyzed with Ye Zhong that the suspension of production of Nanyang Iron Mine is likely to make the inner court recall Ye Zhong to the capital. So aren't the heavy gifts that Ye Zhong gave for the position of mine supervisor all in vain?

Wu Shigong asked Ye Zhong to take the initiative to propose to Emperor Chongzhen and the inner court: not afraid of hardships and hardships, stay in Wu Shigong's Runing army as a supervisor. In that case, Ye Zhong would be indispensable if the Runing Army had benefits, and the Runing Army would not force Ye Zhong to go to the battlefield.

When Ye Zhong heard this, he felt that he was suddenly enlightened. At that time, when the peasant rebel army crossed the Yellow River and threatened Nanyang, the reason why Ye Zhong did not flee to Nanyang Fucheng, but fled to Ye County, was precisely because he knew that Li Lu and Wu Shigong's Runing Army was strong in combat! And it turned out that his vision was very accurate.

And after being safe, Ye Zhong was also worried about his future. And Wu Shigong now points out a path for him to serve as the supervisor of the Runing Army, which makes him another village.

Ye Zhong knew that he had taken the initiative to give up the mine supervisor who had a lot of oil and water, but he went to serve as a dangerous supervisor, and this kind of request would not be disallowed by Emperor Chongzhen and the inner court. And his attitude of courage may also win the appreciation of Emperor Chongzhen. So Ye Zhong immediately hit it off with Wu Shigong.

So, Ye Zhong also wrote a private letter to Wang Chengen. In addition to expressing his willingness to become the supervisor of the Runing Army, Ye Zhong also reported on the performance of the Runing Army that he had seen.

is also telling the truth, and there are also some words accusing the Runing Army of arresting people and robbing money. However, Ye Zhong also analyzed the reasons for the strong wall of the Runing army. Zuihou pointed out that it was also a helpless move.

Zuihou, Ye Zhong also depicted the tragic image of the disabled soldiers when the Runing army withdrew. This implies that since the Runing Army suffered such heavy casualties in the victory at Ruzhou, even if the Runing Army falsely reported some of its exploits, the process of their death battle with the peasant rebels was always real. So there is some credit for it. (To be continued......)