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

Zhang Shikang's words shocked most of the generals and deputy generals.

Most of them were seeing the imperial general for the first time.

At first, they all thought that the Marshal was really young.

But now, they think, the Grand Marshal is...doing this, won’t His Majesty be suspicious?

In their impression, His Majesty is very wary of ministers who hold military power.

Only Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were able to remain calm. They had been exchanging letters with Zhang Shikang over the past two years and knew what was in Zhang Shikang's mind best.

But even so, every speech of Zhang Shikang always touched the hearts of the two people.

In terms of boldness, there was no one bolder than Zhang Shikang in the entire Ming Dynasty.

But it seems that their Majesty really falls for their Marshal's words.

It turned out that Lu Xiangsheng was worried that Zhang Shikang would become arrogant and domineering after gaining such great power at such a young age, but this did not happen.

Before this, Sun Chuanting had always been very cautious, fearing that the emperor would punish him, so after he connected with Zhang Shikang, he repeatedly advised him in his letters.

Asking him to follow the rules as much as possible implied that he knew that His Majesty was suspicious and worried that Zhang Shikang would fall out of favor.

But more than two years later, Zhang Shikang obviously did not listen to him, but their Majesty never expressed his concerns.

Previously, when he was in the capital resisting the Jianlu, he had heard with his own mouth that Zhang Shikang actually called His Majesty "Brother".

From then on, he stopped talking and just focused on handling the tasks assigned by Zhang Shikang.

With Zhang Shikang, he no longer had to worry about court affairs. To be honest, the past two years had been the happiest time for both of them.

"Don't look so confused, as long as you can achieve merit, you will get the rewards you deserve.

There are more than 100 million taels of silver in the imperial treasury. Are you afraid that the imperial court will not have the silver to give you?

I am afraid that you are too afraid of death and dare not fight to the death when you see the Tartars." Zhang Shikang said to everyone in a mocking tone.

I have been patient for more than two years, just waiting for this moment to make a splash.

Brother Chongzhen has been listening to advice recently. It's nothing more than a title, the court can afford it. Anyway, the salaries of nobles have been reduced.

If he could award dozens more hereditary titles in exchange for the lost territories and destroy the Qing Dynasty, Brother Chongzhen would be so happy.

As for the problem of too many titles being conferred in the future, which would lead to a decline in honor, Zhang Shikang was not worried.

As for honor, as long as someone needs it, he can come up with all kinds of tricks. Xunzong next door is a role model.

"I will sacrifice my life to repay your majesty and the commander-in-chief!"

They knew that Zhang Shikang was not joking. As military generals, how else could they repay him? Of course they were eager to fight!

"Well, I don't like to hear empty words, so let's see the real moves.

Next, you will take a three-day exam by Governor Lu and Governor Sun, and those with the best results will be appointed as the commanders of various military towns.

Don't think about being sneaky or bribing anyone, if you are caught, you will be beheaded without negotiation. "Zhang Shikang said casually.

After last year's rectification, the court now has zero tolerance for corruption. Salaries have already increased, and those who are still doing those things deserve death.

There are only a few important military towns, but including veteran generals such as You Shiwei, there are as many as twenty or thirty of them.

After all, Zhang Shikang rarely came to the border towns, and he was not sure about the level of the current commanders of these border towns.

It was a good opportunity to have a careful discussion. Zhang Shikang had already explained this matter to Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting a few days ago.

Upon hearing this, especially the deputy generals and common people like You Shiwei and Yang Ming, they all became extremely excited.

Zhang Shikang's intention was obviously to disrupt the original border town and start over. As long as they could show their real abilities, they might be able to become the commanders of the military town without any formal qualifications.

This meeting seemed to be sloppy, but Zhang Shikang had no intention of really getting rid of them, and the path had already been chosen for them.

If you don't want to continue struggling and want to retire peacefully, there are so many vacant houses in Beijing, so it would be a good idea to live there and retire there.

But if you have the drive, you will get military merits and titles in the future. But there is one thing: you have to have real ability.

Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting took the lead, followed by a large group of burly former generals and deputy generals, all ready to fight.

The exam contains a lot of content, after all, the person being selected is the commander-in-chief of an army.

In terms of personal martial arts alone, there are more than a dozen items, including bare-handed combat, fighting with cold weapons such as swords and spears, and the understanding and use of various types of muskets and even cannons.

Of course, it also includes traditional bows and crossbows, which are divided into standing shooting at fixed targets, riding shooting at fixed targets, riding shooting at moving targets, etc.

Although there are only twenty or thirty people, the content and items of the examination are so numerous that they have already surpassed the scope of the military examination. After all, if you pass the military examination, you will only be assigned a middle or low-level military position, but this is the selection of a general.

The two brothers You Shiwei and You Shilu even beat each other black and blue in their competition.

Wang Yongzuo and Yang Ming were close drinking buddies, and they almost got into a fight over ranking. One general even refused to admit defeat after being knocked down, and his ribs were broken.

Although there are many items on the first day, they are all basic items. Zhang Shikang does not want the general to lead the charge as soon as he arrives on the battlefield, but this is something that all generals at the level of general must be proficient in.

You don't have to, but you have to know how to do it, and you have to do it to an excellent level.

The competition in traditional subjects lasted until the evening, and Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting announced the subjects for the next two days.

Military regulations assessment, battle formation response, battle review, and strategic planning will be divided into city defense and siege warfare, as well as field battles, mountain battles, plains battles, etc.

These items are what a qualified military commander should have, but many people are troubled by them, especially some generals who have risen step by step from the lower ranks.

They don't even know how to read. They can fight a war or arrange defenses, but it is a bit difficult for them to deduce and talk about it in front of a sand table.

However, the battlefield does not believe in tears. Zhang Shikang only allows them to participate in the assessment using plain language, but he still will not let them off.

So, a group of men in their thirties, forties, or even forty or fifty years old began to collect military books that night and prepare to read them late into the night.

In their entire lives, they probably never imagined that one day they would have to go through such a rigorous test again.

But even so, no one complained. The imperial examination was still a tough one for thousands of people to select, and this time they had more than 20 people to select, but there were seven or eight positions for the main generals.

If this ratio were applied to the imperial examination, those candidates would be so happy that they would die.

Three days later, all the assessments were completed.

On March 25th, everyone returned to the meeting room.

The moment Zhang Shikang sat down with a stack of transcripts, most people held their breath.

Because they understand that the moment that determines their fate is about to come.

……