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

Chapter 300 Winning over
Sun Yunhe immediately introduced Yuan Chonghuan to everyone. As the criminal judge of the East Factory, Sun Yunhe was not only Wei Zhongxian's godson, but also the actual person in charge of Wei Zhongxian's control of the East Factory.

In addition to monitoring officials and supervising the Embroidered Uniform Guard for the emperor, the East Factory also had the same intelligence functions as the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In other words, Sun Yunhe was a spy chief.

Others don't know Yuan Chonghuan, but Sun Yunhe knows him. As Wei Zhongxian's godson and lackey, his main task on weekdays is to help Wei Zhongxian collect all kinds of intelligence, including intelligence on officials.

Yuan Chonghuan was now the commander of Ningyuan and a young official favored by Sun Chengzong, so naturally he was noticed by Sun Yunhe. He had a detailed understanding of Yuan Chonghuan's situation and soon found out how Yuan Chonghuan passed the imperial examination and became a county magistrate, including his later transfer from county magistrate to the Ministry of War, and then from the Ministry of War to Liaodong, step by step to the present.

In particular, when Yuan Chonghuan was working in the Ministry of War in Beijing, he had contact with Xiong Tingbi in prison and asked Xiong Tingbi for advice on Liaodong military affairs. Not long after he went to Liaodong, Yuan Chonghuan's ability was valued by Sun Chengzong. Within just one year, he recommended Yuan Chonghuan for promotion and put him in charge of the Ningyuan defense line, sending Man Gui and Zu Dashou to assist him.

Yuan Chonghuan was not well-known in the capital, but he was quite famous in Liaodong. Under Sun Chengzong's cultivation, he looked like his successor. If Sun Chengzong did not serve as the governor of Ji and Liao, who would be in charge of Liaodong? Apart from Xiong Tingbi who was in prison, Yuan Chonghuan would probably be the only one who could be suitable.

"Brother Sun, from what you said, isn't Yuan Chonghuan Sun Chengzong's man? If we ask him to replace Sun Chengzong, I'm afraid..." Ni Wenhuan asked with a frown.

"Yes and no." Sun Yunhe said with a smile: "Although Sun Chengzong was kind to Yuan Chonghuan, Yuan Chonghuan was not Sun Chengzong's disciple, and had nothing to do with the Donglin Party. Moreover, Yuan Chonghuan was very conceited and stubborn. Even though Sun Chengzong was kind to him, it is not true that Yuan Chonghuan obeyed Sun Chengzong's orders."

"Oh, why is that?" Feng Quan couldn't help but ask.

Sun Yunhe immediately smiled and brought up some of the matters between Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong. Sun Yunhe was worthy of being the chief of the secret service, as he knew the situation in Liaodong very well. Moreover, the East Factory had placed many spies in Liaodong, especially around Sun Chengzong.

Sun Yunhe told Wei Zhongxian and his brothers that Sun Chengzong did value Yuan Chonghuan and also used and cultivated Yuan Chonghuan. Yuan Chonghuan was respectful to Sun Chengzong on the surface, but in fact he was a very proud and conceited person. In his opinion, his talents were no less than Sun Chengzong's, and in some aspects he was even better.

In fact, Yuan Chonghuan's relationship with Sun Chengzong was not as close as it seemed. The so-called respect was only due to the relationship between superiors and subordinates. In addition, Sun Chengzong was indeed good to Yuan Chonghuan, so Yuan Chonghuan had a closer relationship with Sun Chengzong for this reason.

But in fact, Yuan Chonghuan was an extremely selfish and conceited person, and he also had conflicts with Sun Chengzong.

It can be said that he was selfish and conceited. Yuan Chonghuan often did not consider the consequences in order to achieve his goals. For example, everyone avoided Xiong Tingbi at the beginning, but Yuan Chonghuan, a minor official who had just joined the Ministry of War, went to the prison to see Xiong Tingbi and asked Xiong Tingbi for advice on Liaodong military affairs. This kind of thing is not something that ordinary people can do.

In addition, after arriving in Liaodong, Yuan Chonghuan had quite a few ways to recruit military officers in Liaodong, which also showed that Yuan Chonghuan was different from ordinary civil servants. Not only that, Yuan Chonghuan was also resolute and resolute, and did things without considering the consequences. Just a few months ago, he almost caused a mutiny because of his unauthorized killing of soldiers. Yuan Chonghuan was scolded by Sun Chengzong. Although he admitted his mistake and apologized in front of Sun Chengzong afterwards, he actually didn't agree with it in his heart. He even complained privately that Sun Chengzong was weak in character and indecisive, and that he did nothing wrong.

When he arrived in Ningyuan, although Yuan Chonghuan implemented Sun Chengzong's strategic deployment, he secretly adopted different methods from Sun Chengzong in many small matters. This is also the difference between him and Sun Chengzong.

"I remember now. No wonder the name sounds familiar. I remember seeing the memorial submitted by Yuan Chonghuan to the emperor. It was thousands of words long and the emperor was quite impressed by this man after reading it." Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian suddenly slapped his forehead and said. When Sun Yunhe mentioned Yuan Chonghuan's name just now, he felt it was familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard of it for a while. It was not until now that he suddenly remembered it.

Cui Chengxiu hurriedly asked Wei Zhongxian about the content of the memorial that Yuan Chonghuan had submitted to the emperor. Wei Zhongxian was not very literate. Although he had seen the memorial, he had only heard its contents orally. In addition, the Emperor Tianqi had only mentioned it intentionally or unintentionally.

After hearing Wei Zhongxian's answer, Cui Chengxiu asked Sun Yunhe about Yuan Chonghuan's situation. He thought for a moment and nodded, "If this is true, Yuan Chonghuan may be useful to us, but I think we need to give it a try."

"Father, I think we can test Yuan Chonghuan first and send someone to win him over to see how he reacts. If Yuan Chonghuan is really like what Brother Sun said, as long as he shows his willingness to agree with you, then this person may be useful. In addition, Yuan Chonghuan's official position is too low now. Even if he can be used, he can't replace Sun Chengzong. But these are all small matters. As long as he is willing to join us and as long as you are here, who is afraid that he can't get promoted?"

"That makes sense!" Wei Zhongxian thought about it and felt that this was a good idea. Among his godsons, Cui Chengxiu was the smartest. Since he accepted Cui Chengxiu, Cui Chengxiu gave him many ideas. As time went by, Wei Zhongxian trusted Cui Chengxiu very much. Besides, Sun Chengzong was in a high position and had a high status in the heart of Emperor Tianqi. He was also very trusted. It was not so easy to get rid of Sun Chengzong. At least for now, Wei Zhongxian could not solve the problem of Sun Chengzong. However, as long as Sun Chengzong was in the position of the governor of Ji and Liao, Wei Zhongxian would feel uncomfortable.

This matter should be considered in the long run, and there is no need to rush. Since Sun Yunhe proposed that Yuan Chonghuan could be used for his own purposes, it might as well be given a try. Even if it fails, it will not be a loss to Wei Zhongxian and others. If it really succeeds, then there will be a man available in Liaodong. Once the time is right, it will be natural to replace Sun Chengzong with Yuan Chonghuan. As long as Sun Chengzong falls, the Donglin Party will lose an important helper, and it will be much easier to deal with.

Since Wei Zhongxian had spoken, he immediately handed the matter over to Cui Chengxiu and specifically asked Sun Yunhe to cooperate. Cui Chengxiu naturally took over the task.

However, Tian Ergeng couldn't help but jump out and say that the Jinyiwei could also help. After all, the Jinyiwei was also a secret agency. There were quite a few Jinyiwei in Liaodong. Moreover, he, Tian Ergeng, was the left general. Now Yuan Chonghuan was leading the army in Ningyuan, so it would be more appropriate for the Jinyiwei or the Five Military Governor's Office to come forward.

Wei Zhongxian was not surprised by Tian Ergeng's initiative, as he knew very well that Tian Ergeng wanted to win favor. Cui Chengxiu would have been fine because of this matter, but Sun Yunhe proposed Yuan Chonghuan, a key figure, and was recognized by Wei Zhongxian, which made Tian Ergeng, who controlled the Jinyiwei, a little uneasy.

In Tian Ergeng's opinion, although the power of the East Factory is greater than that of the Imperial Guard, his Imperial Guard is the most powerful in terms of intelligence. But Sun Yunhe has the upper hand in this matter. If this continues, doesn't it mean that his Imperial Guard is just eating dry food?
Even if they were all Wei Zhongxian's godsons, there were still some relatives among godsons, right? For the sake of their godfather's great cause, it was normal for them to be godsons, so they had to intervene in this matter anyway.

Wei Zhongxian was naturally well aware of Tian Ergeng's little thoughts, and he agreed to Tian Ergeng's request with a hearty laugh.

Seeing Wei Zhongxian's agreement, Tian Ergeng was overjoyed. He respectfully saluted his godfather and patted his chest to promise that he would do a good job. Then Tian Ergeng deliberately smiled at Sun Yunhe, looking very proud. Sun Yunhe was not annoyed and still looked happy.

After the matter was said, Wei Zhongxian saw that it was almost time and he had some time left to leave the palace. He had no choice but to go back because the palace gates would be locked soon.

After standing up and saying a few words, Wei Zhongxian was ready to return to the palace. Several of his godsons hurriedly bowed and took their leave. However, after Cui Chengxiu bowed, he did not immediately follow the others. He stood there as if something had happened.

Seeing him like this, Wei Zhongxian knew what was going on. He smiled and waited for Tian Ergeng and others to leave, then waved to Cui Chengxiu. Cui Chengxiu hurriedly ran to Wei Zhongxian, took out a booklet from his arms, and whispered to Wei Zhongxian.

"What do you think Lao Cui is doing now?" After leaving Wei Zhongxian's mansion, Tian Ergeng slowed down his pace and waited for Feng Quan to come up behind him. Then he quietly pulled his sleeve and the two of them walked aside to talk.

"Haha, how could you not know Lao Cui? Wasn't he like this when he met my godfather that time?" Feng Quan answered with a smile, but there was a sour taste in his words.

All of them were Wei Zhongxian's adopted sons, but Wei Zhongxian's attention to Cui Chengxiu was seen by all the other adopted sons. Although Cui Chengxiu was the oldest and held a low position, he was more valued by Wei Zhongxian than all of them. It was because Cui Chengxiu was a man of many talents and had the most ulterior motives among all the adopted sons. In addition, Cui Chengxiu always talked about his father and helped Wei Zhongxian with his plans from time to time, so Wei Zhongxian valued him very much.

Just like what happened today, Cui Chengxiu once again stood out in front of everyone. Not only was he the first to point out the true thoughts of Emperor Tianqi, he also took the opportunity to propose a suggestion to win over Yuan Chonghuan, causing Wei Zhongxian to hand the matter over to him.

Although Sun Yunhe also participated as a proposer, and Tian Ergeng was even more shameless and volunteered, Wei Zhongxian asked the two of them to assist Cui Chengxiu, but Cui Chengxiu was still the leader among the three, and this alone made Tian Ergeng feel uncomfortable.

Among these adopted sons, Tian Ergeng had the best relationship with Xu Xianchun and Feng Quan. Xu Xianchun was promoted by Tian Ergeng and was currently working under Tian Ergeng as the de facto second in command of the Imperial Guard. However, although Xu Xianchun was also born into a noble family, he was a warrior. He was good at fighting and killing people on weekdays, but he was not as cunning as the civil servant Feng Quan.

(End of this chapter)