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

Chapter 684: An old-fashioned plot

After Fang Zhenghua finished speaking, Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Chengen were a little confused.

The great commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty and the hereditary Duke of Zhenguo won such a great victory, but instead of rushing back to the court to accept rewards, he went to provide disaster relief?

"Why?" Emperor Chongzhen asked in great confusion.

“This… I don’t know either. The messenger said that tens of thousands of guards have been dispatched by the Duke to the various counties and villages in Yongping Prefecture.

The Duke even issued a strict order: anyone who dares not to do their best will be punished with a military stick at the very least, or beheaded at the worst.”

Fang Zhenghua also couldn't understand Zhang Shikang's behavior. After all, disaster relief had nothing to do with the army since ancient times.

There have been almost no cases in history where the army was called upon to provide disaster relief. After all, the army's duty is to defend against enemy countries, and it is good enough if they do not bully the civilians.

However, many people, under the guise of disaster relief, secretly did the despicable thing of seizing the people's land.

"Alas, our master always has unexpected ideas." Wang Chengen sighed.

Emperor Chongzhen and Fang Zhenghua both agreed with this point, but Wang Chengen continued:

"However, Your Majesty, what the Duke has done will surely greatly increase the people's recognition of the imperial court. This is a good thing."

Emperor Chongzhen naturally thought of this and nodded.

After several years of getting along, Emperor Chongzhen had learned a lot about Zhang Shikang.

Especially with the drastic reforms in the past few years, there have been too many opportunities for those who hold military power and even the power of reform to enrich themselves.

However, Zhang Shikang did not do any of these things, and most of the reforms were detrimental to himself and the noble class he belonged to.

The Zhenguo Mansion was a reward given to him by Emperor Chongzhen. It was the previous residence of the Chengguo Duke. However, two years have passed, and it is said that not only has there been no major expenditure on renovation of the Zhenguo Mansion, but many things have been demolished.

The reason turned out to be that it was too troublesome to maintain.

As for the reforms in the past two years, most of the benefits have been distributed to the lowest-level people, and their living conditions have also been improved.

He hadn't thought about it carefully before, but when so many things came together, the conclusion was obvious.

So, Emperor Chongzhen felt that he actually didn’t understand that guy. What kind of person was he?

Emperor Chongzhen sighed inwardly and said to Wang Chengen:

"Tell the people from the Ministry of Rites to postpone the welcoming ceremony. There's no need to rush."

Having recovered so much of the homeland, the national treasury was not short of money, so Emperor Chongzhen naturally wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate grandly.

A series of rewards were read out in front of all the civil and military officials in the court and the people of the capital, which was considered as encouragement and recognition for Zhang Shikang and the Imperial Guards.

On the other hand, it was also a way for Emperor Chongzhen to tell the world that the Ming Dynasty had been revived, and to tell those enemies that he, Chongzhen, would always take back what he had lost with his own hands.

It’s not that Emperor Chongzhen was too vain. For an emperor who had written many edicts of repentance, the lost homeland also meant the loss of his dignity.

But now that guy has dropped everything and gone to do disaster relief.

This really made Emperor Chongzhen a little unbearable, even though he knew it was good for the reputation of the court.

"I obey your command." After saying this, Wang Chengen and Fang Zhenghua retreated together.

Emperor Chongzhen spread out a blank imperial edict and sat on the dragon throne in deep thought. After a moment, he picked up the red brush and began to write the imperial edict to reward Zhang Shikang.

There was no hesitation at all during the whole process.

……

"Tell the brothers below to work harder and rescue as many people as possible.

Tell them that only if we do this, the local army will follow suit when our relatives in our hometown encounter difficulties in the future.

Tell them that the army not only defends the country, but also keeps the people safe and secure.

If the army treats the people like grass, the people will treat the army like enemies."

In the simple central military tent, messengers responsible for delivering news of disaster relief to various places came in and out.

When it comes to disaster relief, Zhang Shikang is even more dedicated than when he was fighting.

This made Sun Weifan very puzzled. You know, during the battle, Zhang Shikang would often complain that he had to ask him about everything.

But for three whole days, this nephew personally took care of all the disaster relief work.

Even considering that the people had nowhere to live and no food to eat, when the provincial government offices did not have time to dispatch food and relief supplies, the guards were asked to use military tents and military rations to offset the shortage.

He even stopped tinkering with those weird things with his young wife, but if there was something that his subordinates couldn't solve, even if it was late at night, this nephew would find a way to solve it.

It's so weird.

"Marshal, it's time for lunch," Sun Weifan reminded.

He originally wanted to take the opportunity of having a meal together to test the waters and see if his combat capabilities had reached the threshold for being awarded an iron certificate.

After all, a hereditary duke and a hereditary marquis are not on the same level.

It's not that Sun Weifan is eager for quick success and instant benefits, but the title of Marquis of Huaining has been hereditary in the Sun family for more than two hundred years. If he, Sun Weifan, can get a promotion, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is his lifelong wish.

Everyone has some thoughts, and in this respect, they are no different from Emperor Chongzhen.

"Oh, I'm a little hungry." Zhang Shikang put down what he was doing and invited Sun Weifan to have dinner together.

The meal was quite plentiful, with a chicken, a fish, and what was half-truthed to be a deer leg shot by a nearby hunter.

Zhang Shikang didn't like extravagance, but he didn't like pretending to be frugal even more. He would order his subordinates to prepare whatever he wanted to eat, unless he was too busy.

However, the chief chef in the army seemed to have grasped Zhang Shikang's taste and always made Zhang Shikang very satisfied.

Zhang Shikang would not deliberately be frugal to show off to others just because the people suffered a disaster.

He does what he should do, and then what he wants to do, based on his own principles.

Zhang Shikang took a bite of the venison and felt that it was nothing special, so he just ordered the fish and chicken. Since they were old acquaintances, Sun Weifan was not polite and started to gnaw on the venison leg.

While eating, the two chatted casually, talking about things in the military camp and at home.

When the time was almost up, Sun Weifan was about to ask about the title, but Liu Wenbing suddenly asked to see him.

"Sir, there is something I want to report to you."

As his core team, Liu Wenbing said this basically when he encountered something he didn't know how to deal with. Zhang Shikang also put down his chopsticks and let Liu Wenbing speak.

"It's like this. There's a serious disaster forty miles north of Yongping Prefecture, so I've ordered people to find a suitable place for the people to temporarily relocate.

There's a temple over there, which happens to be located on high ground, so I sent someone to talk to the abbot of that temple, hoping to temporarily house some of the disaster victims there."

When Liu Wenbing said this, Sun Weifan swallowed the meat in his mouth and said:

"Relieving suffering is the purpose of Buddhism. The abbot wouldn't refuse, would he?"

"That's the problem. The abbot only agreed after his officer showed his token. This is very strange to me.

So I ordered someone to secretly follow them. My Lord, guess what I found in that temple?"

Liu Wenbing said this in a mysterious way, which aroused Sun Weifan's interest. He put down the deer leg in his hand and said:

"Gold, silver, and jewelry?"

Liu Wenbing shook his head.

"Is that the monk who secretly eats wine and meat?"

Liu Wenbing shook his head again.

Zhang Shikang snorted lightly and said:

"It's not like there's a female pilgrim hiding there, is it?"

He had seen this kind of old-fashioned plot many times in TV dramas in his later life, and it was very tacky.

But Liu Wenbing was surprised when he heard this:

"How did the Marshal know?"

……