Cao Huachun, the eunuch in the inner court, was both friends who had been with Zheng Tai for many years, and when Zheng Tai and Cao Huachun were not as powerful as they are now. At that time, Cao Huachun was not in a good life. At most, the king of faith Zhu Youjian was a vassal king who was about to be released from the vassal king. The Ming Dynasty's policy on the vassal king was always to be kept as a pig in captivity. Anyway, the land supply was enough, and as long as he did not rebel, he would usually survive in the pigpen until he died. Originally, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian was also the life of a vassal king, but he did not expect that Emperor Tianqi had no descendants, so Zhu Youjian could only pick up the ready-made emperor.

Both of them knew the plan of the boss behind them. Emperor Chongzhen sent Cao Huachun to ease the relationship with Zhang Ping'an, the Marquis of Ponu, and Zheng Tai defended Zhang Dashuai, and did not want to make the relationship with the emperor too stale. Fortunately, Cao Huachun and Zheng Tai had a good personal relationship, so it was not difficult for the two to communicate. As the host, Zheng Tai set up a table of Ponu, Zhang Ping'an, to create dishes. Eating was just a prelude to the conversation. An hour of greetings was the basis for the main topic.

"Brother Zheng, we have drunk a lot of wine, so let's talk about the main business. The Xuanwei envoy in the Ponu City has not much goods in Beijing and the Ponu Hou Mansion. Why are you still making such a big deal to strengthen the courtyard wall? Could it be that the Jinyiwei is asking you again?"

Facing Cao Huachun's continuous questions, Zheng Tai smiled slightly and put down the wine glass, while giving Cao Huachun a dish, replied: "Eunuch Cao, I, Po Nuhou, have always been about preparing for the future, not afraid of thieves stealing, but afraid of thieves thinking about it. My Wufu Warehouse was stolen once in Liaodong. Now that the thieves are getting bigger and bigger, we should be a little smaller."

"According to the secret report of the Jinyi Guard, Ponu Hou ordered the Mongolian Duoyan tribe to hand over the grain, and Duoyan happily even brought a pack horse to deliver the grain. Ponu Hou was so powerful that you were going to leave. Duoyan had to buy food from the Ming Dynasty. Now the court is burdened with great difficulty!"

Zheng Tai was not vague about Cao Huachun's test of Mongolian Duoyan's grain: "I didn't understand what official official was this Ji Liao governor! He took the Ming Dynasty's food and wages, but sold it to the Ming Dynasty's mortal enemy Jurchen Tartars. You know, the food transported from Nanzhili to Liaodong was about six taels of silver per stone, and Yuan Chonghuan sold it to Mongolian Duoyan only three taels of stone. Mongolian Duoyan doubled and sold it to the Jurchen Tartars. Six taels of grain were cheaper than the food distributed to the Ming Dynasty's official army. The Jurchen Tartars now claim to be the Qing court and already have the plan to compete with the Ming Dynasty for the world. You tell me, is this Yuan Chonghuan an official of the Qing Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, or is he in Cao's camp and in the Han Dynasty?"

Zheng Tai presented the facts and made it difficult for Cao Huachun to refute it. Seeing Cao Huachun fell silent, Zheng Tai said again: "Eunuch Cao can check the archives of the inner court. When I was suppressing bandits in Shaanxi, I had a conversation with Sun Gelao, the then Shaanxi bandit suppression commander, at that time. The Jinyiwei sorted this conversation into a secret letter and submitted it to the late emperor. I, Ponuhou, once said: The affairs of Liaodong can only be slowly planned, and must not be completed overnight. If someone reports to the court to pacify Liao within a few years, he will definitely be a spy of the Jurchen Tartars! I, Ponuhou, never defeated the Jurchen Tartars, and even the old Nuer Nurhaci and his brother Heshuobeibayala. Ponuhou, such a hero, said: It will take more than ten years to wipe out the Jurchen tribe, and it must be completed with the right time, place and people."

After saying that, Zheng Tai was a little disobedient and stuffy. His cheeks were a little flushed and his eyes were flushed. After a long time, he came back to his senses and said with a hint of drunkenness: "Eunuch Cao, I'll say something to you to kill my heart. Not only did the late emperor know, but even Wei Zhongxian was quite clear. If he saw clearly that a person was not a thing, it would be very difficult for him to change his views. This time the court closed the court. If Ponu Hou did not allow me to argue with the yamen of the Ponu Cheng, it would be considered as giving face to the court. If something happened in Liaodong in the past two years, the court should not expect Ponu Hou to help."

Cao Huachun has now figured out the bottom line of Zhang Ping'an, the Marquis of Ponu. Although Zheng Tai said it very obscurely, he did not answer the question of strengthening the defense of the Xuanwei envoy of the Ponucheng, and only talked about Liaodong. Zheng Tai's metaphor shows that the Xuanwei envoy of Ponucheng was strengthening the defense of the Jurchen Jiannu, who was thousands of miles away. Although Cao Huachun didn't really believe that Jiannu could fight to the capital, the Marquis of Ponu, who was the most capable of fighting in the Ming Dynasty, were all preparing for the worst. It seems that Yuan Chonghuan was really planning a scam.

Zheng Tai mentioned the late emperor and Wei Zhongxian in his speech, just asking him to tell the emperor that if Emperor Chongzhen treated Ponuhou like the late emperor, he would not rebel for the time being. But if Emperor Chongzhen blindly suppressed the Xuanwei envoy of the Ponucheng, the consequence would be to force Zhang Ping'an to rebel. Everyone in the Ming Dynasty knew what kind of bird Zhang Ping'an was. On the surface, he was respectful to the court and the emperor, but he had never come to the capital to pay homage to the emperor for so many years.

"Brother Zheng, the emperor has difficulties. Shaanxi has finally stopped for a few years, and there has been a big mess again. Originally, Zhili has been peaceful, but the Xuanda border army has also undergone several mutinies. Sun Ge Lao was sick again, alas! Wei Yi disrupted the mess left by the Chaogang, making the emperor unable to sleep or eat. In order to ensure the food and wages in Liaodong, even the money of the officers and soldiers of the capital was misappropriated. If the nobles could share the worries of the emperor, the emperor would not be in a hurry to eat."

Cao Huachun pointed out the second theme he came up with, asking Ponuhou to take the lead in donating money. Zheng Tai woke up immediately about Cao Huachun's proposal, and he looked at Cao Huachun in surprise and incredible. In Cao Huachun's opinion, Zheng Tai obviously understood the meaning of his words. Cao Huachun also blushed at the errand assigned by Emperor Chongzhen. Although the Ming Dynasty knew that Ponuhou was very rich, he could not bully him like this. Emperor Chongzhen blocked Ponuhou's business and wanted to give money to Zhang Ping'an, who was vindictive, which was indeed a bit unreasonable.

However, Cao Huachun understood the other purpose of Emperor Chongzhen to test Ponuhou, which was to use this matter to see the reaction of Ponuhou. If Ponuhou was not sharp, it means that Ponuhou or Ponu army was disrespectful to the emperor. If Ponuhou was too generous, it would indicate that Ponuhou had other plans. Zheng Tai did not rush to answer Cao Huachun's question, but was silent for a while and showed a trace of strangeness in his eyes.

Zheng Tai did not directly answer Cao Huachun, but instead made merit for him: "In fact, opening a quid site was a great help to the Ming Dynasty. Except for Liaodong, the other border troops in the Ming Dynasty were common, and they were owed less than five or six years. The quid site in Datong, Shanxi and Zhangjiakou quid site supported tens of thousands of officials and pacified hundreds of thousands of their families. This kind of good deed..."

Zheng Tai kept praising Ponuhou and Cao Huachun heard his voice over. The main reason for the trouble in Zhili was to close the scene. Zheng Tai completely avoided Emperor Chongzhen's question about asking the nobles to donate money. Just when Cao Huachun was helplessly preparing to say goodbye, Zheng Tai gave him a surprise.

"Eunuch Cao, don't expect the nobles of the Northern Zhili. You should know what the disaster was in the sixth year of the Tianqi period. Xu Hongji, Duke of Wei in Nanzhili, cares about the court, is a model among the nobles of the Ming Dynasty."

After hearing this, Cao Huachun immediately bowed to Zheng Tai and thanked Zheng Tai. Zheng Tai's attitude was that the errand assigned by Emperor Chongzhen could be initiated by the Princess of Wei in Nanzhili and took the lead in donating money. The figure of Ponuhou was naturally submerged among the nobles of Nanzhili. In this way, it could not only resolve the disagreement between the emperor and Ponuhou, but also not lose the emperor's face.

.........

The tent of the Ponu Army in Wutuzui grassland is full of the aroma of herbs. The Ponu Army commander Zhang Ping'an has been ill in bed for three days. The three-day high fever has tortured Zhang Ping'an's face to the point of becoming a horse. Fortunately, his physical foundation is good, and he is eager to replenish food when the high fever subsides on the third day. His favorite cook, Ma Wu, stayed in Ping'an City, and cooked for the women of the Shuai Mansion and his children. Liu Qingshan, whose cooking skills are second only to Ma Wu, became a special cook for Zhang Dashuai.

Although Mr. Zhang was ruthless about Liu Qingshan's ruthlessness in the war, he praised his cooking skills. While eating spicy noodles, Zhang Ping'an commented: "You kid is a master. This noodles are well made, very sensible! You kid are capable than Erya and are more flexible in wars, but soft-hearted is a taboo for generals. This time, you asked me to come here with me to let you feel how I fought recently and what changes in the tactics. I expect this battle to take two to three years. You should be prepared for a tough battle with Deputy General Chen Zheng. Don't underestimate Lin Danhan's battle to become a defeated battle. We can't turn around to deal with the Jurchen Tartars for several years!"

"Don't worry, sir, students must follow your teachings! A few days ago, he was very worried about the activities of the Jurchen Taurus scouts in the Ponu City in Qingsongling. The students wanted to take Lin Dankhan's army but didn't do it, and wanted to take Zhang Chunsheng to familiarize himself with the terrain there."

"Don't show off your skills in front of me. I know that these two kids are from you. They can have their current status. In addition to being able to lead troops, it is mainly because I teach you good things. I still want to be scheming in front of me, so you will give it for nothing! If you give me your gifts today, go back to Ping'an City and figure out the terrain around Eagle Castle, and don't make mistakes in the war!"

The Po Nu Army was in Hu Weizhong's army downstream of the Selenhe River, and the wind was coming. The round military fort within a mile was filled with the tense atmosphere before the war came. Several horse-riding scouts continued to patrol outside the camp and reported the military information loudly to the military fort. Hu Weizhong had more than 1,300 people and more than 4,000 war horses. Hu Weizhong also knew that once the fight started, the extra war horse would be a burden. He sent more than 30 people to drive half of the war horses to the forest support troops behind. Hu Weizhong was very sure whether he could evacuate under the siege of the enemy.
Chapter completed!