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

"Why does Your Majesty want your life? Can taking your life change Guan Ningjin's current situation?" Zhang Shikang frowned and asked again.

He didn't know whether Zu Dashou was so fierce because he was involved in the incident or he was just that fierce.

"Marshal, I... understand." Zu Dashou finally sorted out his thoughts.

He wants to preserve his dignity and spend his old age in peace, and His Majesty hopes that Guan Ningjin will completely return to his loyalty, and the latter is the basis of the former, so whether he can save his life depends on himself.

“I am still influential with His Majesty.

If you really figured it out, you should know what to do. " Zhang Shikang looked at Zu Dashou calmly.

"I understand. Marshal, please take a rest first. I will show my sincerity tomorrow." Zu Dashou figured out the key to the problem, and his eyes regained their spirit.

After Zu Dashou left, Zhang Shikang felt a lot more relaxed. After all, with Zu Dashou's active cooperation, many problems were much easier to solve.

The next day, Zhang Shikang got up very late.

This was mainly because of Sun Dasheng. In order to protect his safety, Sun Weifan insisted on letting his son closely protect Zhang Shikang.

Sun Dasheng slept on the floor in Zhang Shikang's house last night, but Sun Dasheng's snoring was so loud that Zhang Shikang was tortured until very late before he fell asleep.

In another bedroom not far away, Zu Dashou was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

He lay in bed and thought for a long time. Having been stationed in Guanningjin for more than ten years, he knew almost every tree and blade of grass here.

Whether it was the three strong cities of Jinzhou, Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, as well as the fortresses of Songshan, Xingshan and Lianshan, all the generals were arranged by him personally.

Both Wu Sangui and the group of generals from his ancestral family carried out his orders meticulously.

But the problem was not that simple. The death of Governor Yuan not only made him dare not enter the capital easily, but also made his subordinates and even their servants no longer trust the court.

This resulted in the situation that even if his grandfather Dashou died, Guan Ningjin's current situation would not change, but would make his subordinates even more wary of the imperial court.

However, he didn't dare to mention this matter in front of Zhang Shikang, for fear that Zhang Shikang would think he was threatening him.

The biggest gain tonight, in addition to figuring out his true inner thoughts and the needs of the current emperor, was that he finally realized that if he wanted to preserve his old age, he must get Zhang Shikang's help.

The fact that His Majesty has entrusted military power to Zhang Shikang is enough to prove the emperor's trust in this young man and recognition of his ability. During the two meetings today, Zu Dashou also witnessed Zhang Shikang's uniqueness.

Coupled with the earth-shaking changes in the court in the past two years, Zu Dashou believed that Zhang Shikang's ability was unquestionable.

On this basis, there was only one thing he could do, and that was to find any way to gain Zhang Shikang's trust.

This was not easy, he could feel that Zhang Shikang did not trust him very much.

Of course, he also understands that trust is not something that can be gained by just talking.

But for him, there is no other way to go now, he must cooperate with Zhang Shikang.

Not only for himself, but also for the generals who followed him and the more than 40,000 Liaodong veterans who had followed him for more than ten years.

The group of annoying civil servants in the court have been cleared out by Zhang Shikang. I heard that the people inside the Great Wall have all been allocated land. Everything shows that the court is gradually getting better.

And this young marshal has been expanding the military force. With just these few people, they can never compete with the entire court now.

Since he has decided to swear allegiance, he must show enough sincerity and truthfully inform the deployment of the Guanningjin Defense Line and the military strength in various places.

Moreover, before receiving Zhang Shikang's order, he did not intend to tell his confidants such as Wu Sangui and Zu Zeyuan about his decision.

He would also tell Zu Kuan to continue to act according to the previous plan, so that Zu Kuan would still believe that he was only superficially loyal to the Grand Marshal.

Until you gain Zhang Shikang's trust, then you just need to obey his orders and cooperate with him fully.

The wisdom and strength shown by Zhang Shikang made Zu Dashou dare not have any plans of his own. This was his only chance.

He tossed and turned, but felt that his sincerity was still not enough, so he sat up from the bed and looked towards a niche in the corner of the room.

He hesitated for a while, and finally gritted his teeth and seemed to have made up his mind. He walked towards the niche with his shoes on, and then pulled the niche out with force.

There turned out to be a secret compartment behind the niche. Zu Dashou reached into the compartment and took out a wooden box.

He carried the wooden box back to bed and placed it inside the bed. Only then did he feel a little more at ease and gradually fell asleep.

The next day, Zhang Shikang slept until almost noon.

It’s not that he deliberately slept in, it’s just that Sun Dasheng’s snoring was too loud.

In order to protect his safety, Sun Weifan insisted that Sun Dasheng live with him, torturing Zhang Shikang so much that he fell asleep late at night.

He simply washed up and put on his clothes. As soon as he went out, he saw Sun Weifan and Zu Dashou waiting outside the door.

There was no sign of displeasure on either of their expressions. Sun Weifan had long been accustomed to it, but Zu Dashou did not dare to do so.

Zu Dashou took the two of them to have breakfast in his mansion. He knew that Sun Weifan was Zhang Shikang's confidant, so he took this opportunity to tell them about the deployment of the Guanningjin Defense Line.

His nephew Zu Zeyuan was appointed as the general of Jinzhou and stationed in Jinzhou, with an actual force of 8,000 troops, all of whom were elite troops from Liaodong. His nephew Wu Sangui was appointed as the general of Ningyuan and stationed in Ningyuan, with an actual force of 8,000 troops.

Liu Zhaoji was appointed as the general of Songshan and stationed in Songshan, with an actual force of 7,000. In addition, there was Shanhaiguan where he was stationed personally, with a force of 12,000.

As for more than ten small passes such as Xingshan and Lianshan, they are basically supported by the old and weak.

"The actual military force you are talking about are the servants you keep, right?" Zhang Shikang asked while drinking porridge.

One of the important reasons why the Nine Frontiers are difficult to deal with is that most of the soldiers who can fight only recognize their chief officers, not the imperial court.

The imperial court was in financial distress, and in recent years it could not even guarantee the payment of military salaries to the nine frontiers.

In order to ensure combat effectiveness and increase their control over the soldiers, the generals of the border towns made the soldiers their servants, and most of the money and food issued by the court were distributed to them first.

These servants enjoyed the best treatment, the best equipment, and of course were very supportive of their generals.

The remaining soldiers in the garrisons were in a miserable state. Not only were their salaries embezzled by their commanders, but their weapons and equipment were also incomplete. When they went to the battlefield, they were basically cannon fodder, used to consume the enemy's manpower.

Zhang Shikang's question was not asked in a gentle manner. Seeing through things but not speaking them out has always been a tradition in the Ming Dynasty officialdom.

Sun Weifan didn't know what happened last night, so he felt that Zhang Shikang was a little reckless.

But Zu Dashou did not show any dissatisfaction on his face, instead he explained everything in detail:

"Reporting to the commander, this is indeed the case. I dare not lie. I am guilty."

Zhang Shikang was not angry after hearing this, but his next question really made Sun Weifan unable to sit still.

"Let's put your crime aside, there are also cases of people drawing salary without doing anything, right?

How many soldiers does Guan Ningjin have? How many vacancies are there? "

……