Chapter 1086 The handle!

In addition to removing Sun Jing'an, Ye Mingsheng believed that Ma Runchuan's appointment as the governor of Qi and Lu was also an acceptable decision.
What Gu Sansi said was correct. Ma Runchuan's ability was indeed worthy of recognition. He had been in Qilu for several years and was very familiar with the local situation in Qilu. If other people were parachuted into Qilu, it would take a long time for them to become familiar with the situation.

In fact, when Ye Mingsheng sent Ma Runchuan to Qilu to serve as deputy governor, he actually wanted him to replace Sun Jingan.

However, due to the continuous fighting at the front, the logistics pressure was tight, so Ye Mingsheng did not touch Sun Jingan as he performed well!
As for what Ye Mingsheng said just now about the Coordination Office reporting Ma Runchuan, it was actually Ye Mingsheng trying to deceive Gu Sansi. He wanted to see whether Gu Sansi's attitude was firm!

Gu Sansi's reaction also basically satisfied Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng was very clear about Ma Runchuan's problem. Ma Runchuan was still clear about the issues of principle. It was just that Ma Runchuan still failed to stick to the bottom line in some minor details!

So this time Ye Mingsheng wanted Gu Sansi to restrain his senior brother and see if Gu Sansi could control Ma Runchuan!

Ye Mingsheng believes that if you want to become the head of all officials, you must not only be capable yourself, but also be able to set an example and restrain the people below you!

Cui Shao had done a good job before, but the outbreak of Liu Zhengyue's case made Ye Mingsheng a little disappointed.

In addition, Ma Runchuan is also one of the helpers that Ye Mingsheng is going to leave for Gu Sansi. Ye Mingsheng has high hopes for Gu Sansi, hoping that he can become a stabilizer of the new dynasty and balance the situation in the court. In order to achieve this goal, Gu Sansi alone is not enough, he also needs help!
So Ma Runchuan is a good choice. He is capable but not too ambitious, and has a good relationship with Gu Sansi···························
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Sichuan, evening

On Sanmen Ridge, the only way from Rongcheng to Jianmen, a horse team of more than a hundred people was galloping towards Jianmen.

The one who was being hailed as the star in the cavalry was none other than Zhang Zhe, the current commander-in-chief of Jianmen. Just yesterday, it was revealed that a unit of the Sichuan-Shu Army had been embezzling military pay from their superiors. Some soldiers of the Sichuan-Shu Army, in order to make a living, resorted to reselling their firearms and armor to some wealthy landlords in exchange for food.

Song Weijie was also furious because of this matter. The Governor of Sichuan could not imagine that at this tense juncture, his Sichuan Army would encounter such a serious problem.

For this reason, Song Weijie severely punished the generals involved, and in order to prevent such incidents from happening again, Song Weijie asked his confidants to prepare to go to various places in Sichuan and Shu to inspect the war preparedness!

In order to attract the attention of his subordinates, Song Weijie also specifically stated that during this inspection, he would reward those who performed well and punish those who performed poorly, and he would not tolerate any leniency no matter who it was!

The first stop that Song Weijie sent people to inspect was undoubtedly the strategic location of Sichuan and Shu, the gateway to Chengdu - Jianmen!
Zhang Zhe panicked immediately after hearing the news. Although he was the general of Jianmen and was entrusted with an important task by Song Weijie, he was not from a military background but joined the army halfway through his career...

Therefore, Zhang Zhe had no idea about battle formations and military tactics. The reason why he was able to become the general of Jianmen and command tens of thousands of Sichuan troops was largely due to his flattery of Song Weijie!
Also, the Jianmen position is very important, and Song Weijie needs someone he can trust, so he promoted Zhang Zhe to this position!
As the general of Jianmen, Zhang Zhe should have been stationed in Jianmen. However, although Jianmen was a military stronghold, it was very desolate and there was almost no entertainment. In addition, Zhang Zhe knew nothing about military affairs, so he was too lazy to take care of them and left all the work to his subordinates.

So Zhang Zhe, who is known as the general of Jianmen, is actually stationed in Chengdu. On weekdays, he is either thinking about how to please Song Weijie and flatter him, or he is living a life of luxury and debauchery. He only goes back to Jianmen occasionally to take a look.

Therefore, seeing that Song Weijie was so angry and attached so much importance to the combat readiness situation this time, Zhang Zhe was a little panicked. He immediately took people to Jianmen to see what the situation of Jianmen's combat readiness was.

Although Zhang has basically never been in charge of Jianmen’s battle preparedness, after all, he is now the commander-in-chief of Jianmen. If there is a problem with Jianmen’s battle preparedness, he will be responsible for it...
Although Zhang Zhe wanted to fly to Jianmen as soon as possible, the sky was getting darker and darker, and the horse team had traveled dozens of miles, and everyone was exhausted physically and mentally, so the guard beside him couldn't help but persuade him;
"General, I remember there is an inn ahead. Let's rest for a night before setting off again!"

Zhang Zhe instinctively wanted to refuse when he heard this, but his body had long been drained by alcohol and sex, and he was able to continue on his journey only because of his strong will.

By this time, his fighting spirit was almost gone, so before he could even say the words of refusal, Zhang Zhe began to hesitate.

Seeing Zhang Zhe's hesitation, the guard knew something was wrong and immediately advised him again:

"General, we are only about thirty miles away from Jianmen. It is not safe to walk on the mountain road at night. Let's go to the inn ahead and have a good rest for the night. We will set off at dawn tomorrow and reach Jianmen by noon. There is more than enough time!"

Zhang Zhe was completely moved by these words. He nodded slightly and said:
"As you say!"

"Okay! I'll lead the way for you!"

After an incense stick of time, Zhang Zhe and others arrived at the door of an inn. Looking at the shabby and simple environment of the inn, Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but frowning with a look of disgust. He had a good life in Chengdu, so how could he look down on this small inn in the wilderness...

However, when he thought that there was no other inn on Sanmenling, and that he would have to camp outside if he didn't stay in this inn, Zhang Zhe had no choice but to suppress his disgust and asked the innkeeper to arrange the best room for him and prepare the best banquet for him. After traveling for several hours, he was very hungry.

At Zhang Zhe's request, the shopkeeper soon came up with a plate of twice-cooked pork, a plate of mapo tofu, a plate of kung pao chicken, and two bowls of rice. Although this was already the best meal in this small inn, Zhang Zhe, who was used to eating delicacies from land and sea, was still a little dissatisfied.

However, no matter how dissatisfied he was, Zhang Zhe knew that if he didn't eat this, he would only be able to chew on cold and hard dry food, so in the end he started to eat it in big mouthfuls while still feeling disgusted.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Zhe lay down on the bed to rest. The dozens of miles he walked today might not be a big deal when he was young, but his body had been almost drained by alcohol and sex. He was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he fell on the bed.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Zhe, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly felt a chill on his face and woke up abruptly. He saw a tall, handsome stranger sitting on a chair in the room, looking at him with a smile...
Seeing this man suddenly appear, Zhang Zhe was shocked and subconsciously wanted to call for someone to protect him.
However, Zhang Zhe was a man who had seen the world, and he quickly calmed down and realized that the other party had no ill intentions, otherwise the other party would have attacked him while he was sleeping. So he took a deep breath and then clasped his hands together and said sincerely:
"I wonder which road you are from? What do you want to see Zhang for today?"

The strange man heard this and said leisurely:
"I have a long-standing friendship with you, General Zhang. I hope you will not be offended by my sudden visit today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man threw something to Zhang Zhe. Zhang Zhe reached out and took it. He saw a token in his hand. Under the moonlight outside the window, Zhang Zhe could see the three characters "Coordination Office" engraved on the front of the token, and the three characters "Liu Baichuan" engraved on the north side of the token! Zhang Zhe narrowed his eyes at this. Although he got the token representing his identity, he didn't dare to recognize it rashly because it was related to his life. He immediately opened his mouth and tried to speak:

"Who are you? Why did you come to see me?"

Liu Baichuan, who came to visit late at night, naturally saw Zhang Zhe's tentative intention, and shook his head and said:

“General Zhang, you are too cautious. I came here because of your conditions…”

Seeing Liu Baichuan mention this, Zhang Zhe completely let down his guard and got straight to the point:

"In that case, Captain Liu, are you ready to agree to my terms?"

Liu Baichuan said directly:
"The commander of the Sichuan-Shu Army!"

Zhang Zhe frowned slightly when he heard this and said:
"This is a fifth-rank officer, and I am now a fourth-rank general of Jianmen!"

Liu Baichuan sneered when he heard this, then looked at Zhang Zhe and said:
"Master Zhang, you don't really want to continue to be an official, do you?"

"Excuse me for being blunt, Master Zhang, but you know how much money you have made and how many girls you have harmed over the years. It's already great that this Tuan Lian Shi can keep your power for the rest of your life!"

Zhang Zhe felt a little unhappy when he heard Liu Baichuan's slightly sarcastic tone, but after thinking carefully, he realized that what Liu Baichuan said made sense, so he endured it and asked in a deep voice:
"When will the letter of authorization be delivered? Marshal Ye's signature and seal are both required! As soon as the letter of authorization is in hand, I can take action!"

Liu Baichuan said calmly:
"If you want it, Lord Zhang, I can give it to you right now..."

Zhang Zhe was stunned at first, then he felt that he was being teased and said with a somewhat unfriendly expression:

"Captain Liu, what do you mean by this?"

Under Zhang Zhe's gaze, Liu Baichuan took out a piece of paper and threw it over again. Zhang Zhe picked it up and saw that the three big words "Power of Attorney" were clearly written on the paper in his hand.

Then it said you were appointed as the Sichuan-Shu militia commander, and there was indeed Ye Mingsheng's signature and seal on it, but the column for the name was left blank!
Zhang Zhe was also a little surprised to see this, and at this time Liu Baichuan continued to say;

"Long before I came to Sichuan, I had foreseen the situation today, so I prepared a few blank letters of appointment, and asked the Marshal to sign and seal them and bring them to Sichuan. When the need arises, I will fill in the names on them!"

Zhang Zhe couldn't help but frowned slightly when he heard this, and after hesitating for a moment, he asked again:
“Will this work?”

Liu Baichuan heard this and preached without hesitation:
"Of course! As you can see, General Zhang, our Marshal Ye's signature and seal are on it. This is something that cannot be faked!"

"I don't have the guts to lie! After all, this is a capital crime, and I, Liu Baichuan, still want to live a good life!"

Zhang Zhe thought about it and felt that what Liu Baichuan said made sense. After all, forging the lord's signature seal was a serious crime no matter where it was placed. Liu Baichuan seemed to have no reason to do such a thing...

Seeing that Zhang Zhe had taken the bait, Liu Baichuan continued to speak:
"And General Zhang, think about it carefully. Rongcheng is thousands of miles away from Yijing. It took me several months to get there. If I send the news back to Yijing, and Yijing sends the news back, it will take half a year to go back and forth. By then, the opportunity will be gone!"

"That's why the Marshal is willing to sign these blank letters of appointment for me. I'm telling you, General Zhang, these letters of appointment are extremely valuable, and I don't have many of them. And I'm also responsible for the Marshal's signature and seal, so I would never give them to ordinary people!"

"I'm not afraid to tell you that I didn't intend to give it to you, but your conditions were too tempting, General Zhang!"

"General Zhang, now tell me what you are going to do? If you can convince me, I will sign your name on this letter of appointment for you!"

At this moment, Zhang Zhe was completely moved by Liu Baichuan. After hesitating for a moment, he handed over his biggest trump card.

"I was the one who sent Governor Song's favorite concubine, Wang, into prison. I have leverage over her. I can ask her to poison Governor Song!"

Hearing Zhang Zhe's words, Liu Baichuan's eyes lit up, and after thinking for a while, he said:
"General Zhang, are you sure you can have such a big impact on the Wang family?"

Liu Baichuan nodded, and then said directly without hiding anything:
“This Wang had a pair of children. When Governor Song took her for granted, he asked me to kill these two children. Wang begged me so hard that I softened my heart and secretly kept them…”

(End of this chapter)