Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 125 Meeting the Commander

Tian Ergeng stayed with Zhou Anmin for one night and left the next day. He then went to Wangjia Village to announce the appointment of Wang Rong.

Zhu Shenzhui received the news a few days later. By the time he knew this, Zhou Anmin was already preparing to take office. As for Wang Rong, he had transformed himself from an ordinary centurion to the commander of Luzhou Guard.

Such a change was extremely surprising to Zhou Anmin and Wang Rong, and even caught them off guard. However, Zhu Shenzhu was not surprised at all, because he had anticipated this when he asked Zhou Anmin to go to Wei Zhongxian's place in the first place.

If it was one or two years later, when Wei Zhongxian had completely become the "Nine Thousand Years Old", it would not be so easy to find Eunuch Wei, but it was different now. Because the timing of the selection was just right, although Wei Zhongxian began to be favored by Emperor Tianqi, he did not have much power in his hands, and his power was far less than it was later.

Moreover, Wei Zhongxian, who had just emerged, had no one to use, and his appetite was far less than it would be later. At this time, Zhou Anmin only needed to pay a small price to achieve his goal. And this was indeed the case. After Wei Zhongxian learned about Zhou Anmin's situation, he immediately thought of winning over Zhou Anmin, and this matter was accomplished easily.

Although the position of deputy captain of the Jinyiwei and commander of the garrison may seem unattainable to ordinary people, it is nothing to Wei Zhongxian.

In the Ming Dynasty, civil officials are respected and military officials are despised. If Wei Zhongxian wants to control a civil official, even a seventh-rank county magistrate, it would not be easy. But it is different for a military official.

These two positions belong to military officers, and they are only mid-level military officers. In the current Ming Dynasty, the status of civil officials is much higher than that of military officials. An ordinary seventh-rank inspector can point at the general and curse him, not to mention the deputy generals and lieutenant generals below. Senior military officers are naturally inferior to civil officials, and the civil official group simply looks down on these soldiers.

The garrisons are not frontier troops. The power to appoint garrisons lies with the Five Military Commanderies. Over the years, the garrisons below have become rotten to the core, and the Ministry of War has not taken the local garrisons seriously at all.

Wang Rong became the commander of Luzhou Guard only by being appointed by the Five Military Commandery. This was even easier for Wei Zhongxian, not to mention the others, he could just take care of Tian Ergeng who had just defected to him.

The matter was done, and Zhu Shenzhui was very excited. He immediately went to Wangjia Village to meet Wang Rong. At that time, Wang Rong was still in a daze from the huge shock.

Although Zhu Shenzhu had mentioned it to him privately before, telling Wang Rong that he and Zhou Anmin were helping him run the garrison, and Wang Rong had discussed this with Zhu Shenzhu, Wang Rong was somewhat unconvinced because he felt that even if he found a way and spent money, he could only get a garrison post at best, and at best he could be a deputy commander.

Wang Rong just smiled at Zhu Shenzhui's mention of the commander and the deputy commander, thinking that his nephew was teasing him. But he never expected that not long after that, he would be appointed as the commander of Luzhou Guard. When the facts were laid out in front of Wang Rong, he was completely dizzy.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

He rushed to Wangjia Village and entered Wang Rong's house. When he arrived at the main room, he saw Wang Rong sitting there in a dignified manner. He was wearing a brand new commander's uniform and looked very dignified.

But why did Zhu Shenzhui think that Wang Rong looked a little strange? His smile was a little stiff, his eyes were scattered, and he didn't even react when he came to him.

Zhu Shenzhui was suddenly shocked and quickly waved his hand in front of Wang Rong. Was he overjoyed? Was he just like Fan Jin, who was obsessed with the imperial examination?

"What's going on here?"

Wang Jinwu curled his lips and said, "I'm so happy after the imperial court appointed me. But don't worry, Sixth Brother, I've consulted a doctor and he said my father is fine."

"You're still alright?" Zhu Shenzhu looked at Wang Rong again in confusion and couldn't help asking. If Wang Rong was really infatuated, this good thing would turn into a bad thing. If it really doesn't work, we need to ask a famous doctor to see him. What good doctor can we find in Wangjia Village? We need to send him to Pingyang Prefecture!

"It's really okay. If you don't believe me, just wait!" Seeing Zhu Shenzhui looking nervous, but his son Wang Jinwu didn't look worried at all, he asked Zhu Shenzhui to just watch, and immediately walked aside, coughed twice to clear his throat, and then suddenly shouted, "Commander-in-chief!"

As soon as the words fell, Wang Rong's eyes, which had not been focused before, suddenly came to life, and his whole body straightened up at once. Wang Rong sat upright and agreed immediately: "Who wants to see me?"

This reaction made Zhu Shenzhui stunned. Wang Jinwu gave him a look, which seemed to tell Zhu Shenzhui: "Isn't this good?"

Then Wang Jinwu took two steps forward and knelt on one knee in front of his father: "Reporting to the commander, I, Wang Jinwu, greet you..."

"You stinky boy! Are you kidding your father? Why don't you get up!" Wang Rong looked carefully and saw that this was his son. He immediately cursed.

Wang Jinwu stood up quickly from the ground, brushed the dust off his knees twice and said with a pout: "Dad, if you continue like this, I won't even recognize your son. Okay, just have fun at home for two days, you will have a lot of fun in the future. Look who's here? They've been greeting you for a long time." Wang Rong looked in the direction Wang Jinwu pointed, and saw Zhu Shenzui, who was standing aside at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He patted his forehead, came to his senses, and felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

"When did this...come?"

Zhu Shenzhui couldn't say that he had been there for a while, otherwise where would his uncle's face be?
"Just arrived."

"It's good that I just arrived, it's good that I just arrived." Wang Rong replied subconsciously, and then looked at Wang Jinwu who was laughing at the side, and a ball of anger rose in his stomach, and he immediately scolded him: "You kid, didn't you see your sixth brother is here? Why don't you go and make a pot of tea? You have no eyesight!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go right away. I'll go right away." Wang Jinwu nodded quickly, winked at Zhu Shenzhui, and ran away quickly.

He was used to his father's frequent frights these days, which happened every day. But fortunately, the doctor said it was just excessive joy and he would be fine in a few days.

Having said that, Wang Rong has been a centurion for most of his life, and this title is hereditary. Moreover, although he is called a centurion, he is actually just the village chief of Wangjia Village, and he is in charge of the people in Wangjia Village. Whether he is a centurion or not, it is just a title.

But now it's different. Wang Rong suddenly became the commander of Luzhou Guard, a third-rank military officer! The Wang family had such an honor only in their ancestors' time. Ever since Marshal Lan got into trouble at the hands of Lord Hongwu, the Wang family has long ceased to be a member of the noble family. Over the years, they have become no different from ordinary military households.

Now Wang Rong has transformed himself into the commander of the garrison. In other words, he has gone from an ordinary militia company commander to the commander of a military sub-district. It is no exaggeration to say that he has risen to fame overnight.

Although the garrisons are not as strong as before in recent years and many of them have long been in name only, the position and rank of the garrison commander are real no matter what, and they are located in Shanxi. Compared with other places in the Central Plains, the garrisons in Shanxi have not completely rotted away.

Everything was just like in a dream. Wang Rong was surprised and happy. It was natural for him to be affected mentally under such changes. However, Wang Rong was only happy for a while, and was far from being infatuated. Now that Zhu Shenzhui came, Wang Rong came back to his senses and thought about his state just now. He felt a little embarrassed.

Zhu Shenzhui did not mention the previous incident again. After sitting down, he asked Wang Rong about the specific situation. Wang Rong told Zhu Shenzhui that the post of commander had fallen on his head, and the Luzhou Guard was also waiting for him to take office. However, how to take office and what to do next, Wang Rong did not think about it for a while. Zhu Shenzhui happened to come, and he planned to listen to Zhu Shenzhui's ideas.

"Haha, this isn't easy? Uncle, you are the commander now, just take up the post directly."

"That's easy to say?" Wang Rong shook his head and said, "How could I not understand the ways of the garrison? Besides, the one we are going back to is Luzhou Garrison, which is not the same garrison as mine. If we go there without any preparation, your uncle will be beaten to death or crippled."

"You came at the right time today. Please help your uncle with the next arrangements. Some things need to be prepared immediately."

What Wang Rong said was not wrong. The garrison was actually no different from a small society. Commander Wang Rong was directly airdropped. Zhu Shenzhui was not clear about the specific arrangements of the previous Luzhou Garrison, and he had not had time to inquire about it.

But as a parachuted leader, there are always problems in a place where he is unfamiliar with the environment. If he cannot make a breakthrough, he will not be able to keep his position as a commander.

This is actually no different from Zhu Shenzhu's experience in the officialdom in his previous life. The principle is the same. Zhu Shenzhu suggested to Wang Rong that he should bring some people with him to take office, especially to select some trusted children from Wangjia Village to follow him.

These people followed Wang Rong to Luzhou Guard. In this way, Wang Rong had a force that he could use and trust. Even if someone in the guard wanted to harm Wang Rong, they would have to think twice because Wang Rong had these people.

The commander of the garrison was appointed by the Five Military Commandery, but the positions below the commander were generally hereditary. Among them, the commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief, and the garrison commander were relatively good. As the deputy and direct subordinate of the commander, generally speaking, it was nothing more than the amount of power.

When we get to the garrison, we will first find out the situation. Then we will win over those who need to be won over, appease those who need to be appeased, and we will have a foothold once we have dealt with all these people. However, the Qianhu Suo and Baihu Suo below are different. Although they are also under the jurisdiction of the garrison, they are relatively independent. Just like Wangjia Village, although it belongs to the Qianhu Suo and the garrison, it is actually a small independent kingdom. Hasn't Wang Rong always had the final say?

In this situation, Wang Rong does not need to touch the interests of the Qianhu Suo and Baihu Suo for the time being. He can start from other places, such as Yangtou Mountain, Zhaowuling, and Zhaowu Village. These are his own territories. It is just right to set up new Baihu Suo in the name of the Wei Suo, and then support them through legitimate channels. Once he has a certain strength, he can consider other things.

It's nothing more than using kindness and force at the same time. After taking office, it's not enough to just win over people, but you have to stir up some fires appropriately. This is also a way to establish prestige and let everyone in the garrison know that Wang Rong is not someone who can be fooled.

Zhu Shenzui needed no explanation as to how to start the fire and how to start it. Wang Rong had built Wangjia Village like an iron barrel over the years, and he had no shortage of means. In addition, Zhou Anmin was now the deputy captain of Jinyiwei Luzhouwei, and actually held the position of captain. If the two of them joined hands, one in the open and the other in the dark, and cooperated with each other, it would not be difficult to do it.

(End of this chapter)