Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Anyone present who was not a fool could have heard the sarcasm in Zhang Shikang's words.

The current emperor doesn't even eat as well as you do. You're just short of pointing at Yang Sichang's face and scolding him for being wasteful.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Why be so sarcastic?" Yang Sichang said with a cold face.

These meals were prepared by the cook he brought with him from his hometown, and it was naturally impossible to kill so many chickens to make chicken tongues.

Whenever he wanted to eat chicken tongues, the cook would visit all the restaurants and bars in the city a day in advance to collect the chicken tongues and store them in ice water.

But Yang Sichang was too lazy to explain to Zhang Shikang, and there was no need to explain. He knew that the emperor trusted this guy, but he, Yang Sichang, was not afraid.

Yang Sichang has been unhappy these days. He knows that the imperial court is worried about food and fodder, but he dare not rush into battle. The Ming Dynasty is not like the Jiannu, who have so many cavalry.

He could only arrange his battle formation according to the terrain and lure the Jiannu to fight, but Dorgon seemed to be circling around his main force and refused to engage in a decisive battle with them, while people in the palace kept urging him to do so.

The victory of the Beijing Army in the battle of Jiazhuang seemed to push him to the edge of a cliff. In the past, he always mocked the low combat effectiveness of the Beijing Army and said that Zhang Shikang was just a dissolute playboy who knew nothing about military affairs.

Now, the dissolute playboy had led the weak Beijing army to win a great victory right under his nose, which was undoubtedly a slap in the face to Yang Sichang.

"It doesn't matter if we wait a little longer. Let's talk about it after I'm full. I have to say, the food at Yanggebu is really delicious." Zhang Shikang said as he picked up some dishes.

The reason why he wanted to make things difficult for Yang Sichang right from the start was actually to vent Lu Xiangsheng's anger. You have to know that Yang Sichang was definitely one of the people who plotted to murder Master Lu.

Although we can't do anything to him for now, it's still easy to disgust this fat old man.

Zhang Shikang did not have the shortcoming of Yang Sichang and others who took their time to savor their meals. In less than a quarter of an hour, he finished all the most delicious dishes on the table.

While Zhang Shikang was sitting there, Yang Sichang didn't even pick up his chopsticks. He was almost mad with anger. Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting were also just sitting there.

"Minister Yang, the emperor's oral order is to end the war with the Jianlu as soon as possible. You also know that the court can't afford to delay!" Wang Chengen sighed.

It is said that a cannon shot is worth a fortune, and war is indeed an extremely wasteful endeavor. Zhang Shikang used to think this was an exaggeration.

Now that I am the commander of a region, I know all the ins and outs of it. Just the cost of the Beijing camp for the past ten days, including the travel expenses, military pay, and food wages, is nearly 100,000 taels.

After the battle of Jiazhuang, the reward silver plus the pension silver, the specific number was later calculated, there were 220,000 taels, which was the budget for more than 20,000 people for more than ten days, which was 300,000 taels.

Of course, there were some gains. The biggest gain from the Battle of Jiazhuang, apart from the capture of the Jianlu leader Yuetuo, was the more than 8,000 Jiannu war horses and more than 100,000 shi of grain and fodder seized by Qi Dazhu and others.

Most of the Jiannu's war horses came from various Mongolian tribes. According to the market price of fifteen to twenty taels, they were worth about hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

But the problem was that the Beijing Camp was also short of horses. Zhang Shikang had already said in his memorial to Chongzhen that all these war horses would be kept in the Beijing Camp to expand the cavalry camp.

Therefore, not only did this batch of war horses fail to be exchanged for silver, but the Beijing camp instead had more than 8,000 additional mouths to feed. The beans and fodder eaten by one war horse was equivalent to the rations of five soldiers according to the market price.

More than 8,000 war horses are almost equivalent to the consumption of 40,000 soldiers. Not only Yang Sichang is anxious, but Zhang Shikang also doesn't want to drag it on. No one can afford to drag it on.

"Eunuch Wang, the war cannot be rushed. The more you rush, the worse it will be. You can't just ask for a war opportunity just because you want it."

After all, Wang Chengen was conveying the oral order of the current emperor, and no one present dared to refute it. Zhang Shikang couldn't stand it anymore, so he spoke up.

He was not trying to excuse Yang Sichang. The bigger the war, the less the commander should be subject to outside interference, otherwise he would easily be ruined.

Zhang Shikang remembered that in the Battle of Dalinghhe a few years later, Hong Chengchou was forced to launch a decisive battle in a hurry because his brother Chongzhen kept urging him, but ended up with a miserable defeat and surrender.

The big idiot with a square head and a square face next to Zhang Shikang was also urged again and again by Brother Chongzhen. He was obviously not prepared, lacking food, money, training, and everything else, but he hurried out of Tongguan to fight a decisive battle with Li Zicheng.

The result was of course tragic, just as tragic as that of Uncle Lu. No one cared for him for a long time after his death, and he was even scolded and ridiculed by his brother Chongzhen.

It must be said that if Chongzhen had been less meddling, the court wouldn't have ended up in such a mess.

Why are you in such a hurry? The Ming Dynasty is already in such a mess, there is no need for a while, what's the matter, are you in a hurry to reincarnate?

Wang Chengen glanced at Zhang Shikang. He had known for a long time that Zhang Shikang and Yang Sichang had a grudge against each other, but he did not expect that Zhang Shikang would speak for the other party.

However, Yang Sichang did not appreciate it. He snorted and said:

"I understand your majesty's intention. I will do my best to end this war within a month."

MMP, you old rascal, Zhang Shikang felt that he was really talking too much. Yang Sichang was not a die-hard fan of the court like Master Lu and Sun Chuanting, so he would not be in a hurry to start a war when urged by the emperor.

Look, do our best and solve it within a month. What a nice thing to say. Not only Wang Chengen, but also Brother Chongzhen would probably be satisfied after hearing it.

However, Zhang Shikang dared to guarantee that the war could be resolved within a month, but Yang Sichang definitely did not have that confidence.

Zhang Shikang knew that the initiative of the war was not in the hands of the imperial court, and he did not believe that Yang Sichang did not know this.

The reason why this fat guy is cunning is that his promise is just a promise, unlike those idiots who always come to you with their heads raised if they fail to fulfill their promises.

A guarantee is different from a military order. If you fail to complete it at that time, you can just say, "Oh, I have tried my best, I really have tried my best, but the Jiannu were too cunning."

This was not the first time that Yang Sichang had done such a thing. He had promised Chongzhen that he would suppress the bandits within a year, but he ended up breaking his promise. However, Chongzhen did not blame him.

This fat guy is still quite good.

"Eunuch Wang, doesn't His Majesty have other oral instructions? Why don't you tell us about them?" Zhang Shikang nudged Wang Chengen with his elbow.

Wang Chengen knew what Zhang Shikang was talking about, and immediately said:

"Military Yang, the Beijing Camp has made great contributions, but also lost many soldiers in the battle, and is currently short of reward and pension silver.

The emperor hopes that Yang Gebu can share the worries of the court and allocate some money and food from the military camp."

Wang Chengen did not feel embarrassed. As long as it was the emperor's oral order, he would convey it truthfully. After that, he sat in his seat and waited for Yang Sichang's reply.

"Master Yang, it's not much, 150,000 taels is enough. I believe this is just a small amount for Master Yang."

The real purpose is revealed, Zhang Shikang said with a chuckle.

Gao Qiqian's mansion in Datong had been confiscated by Lu Xiangsheng on horseback, and a total of more than 80,000 taels of silver were seized. All the real estate, calligraphy and paintings, antiques, etc. had not yet been sold.

The family fortune was not much, mainly because Shanxi, where Gao Qiqian lived, had long been plagued by bandits and was also a severely affected area by drought and locust plagues, so the common people really had little money.

In fact, Zhang Shikang could have asked for less. After all, when those things were sold, they could be exchanged for tens of thousands of taels. However, the consumption of the Beijing Army had increased dramatically, so Zhang Shikang had to prepare for a rainy day.

"Oh, Lord, you are really generous. You can even say that 150,000 taels of silver is nothing." Yang Sichang said with a fake smile, and then continued:

"Your Excellency should be aware of the daily consumption of 100,000 troops in the military camp.

It is difficult for me to come up with this 150,000 taels at once. Previously, during the fundraising campaign, the Duke of England's government contributed 420,000 taels in cash.

The Duke of England's family is wealthy and powerful. In my opinion, it would be better for you to ask the Duke for help. Not only can it make up for the deficit, but His Majesty will also be relieved when he knows about it.

Uncle, do you think so?

……