Chapter 496 495 Wei Guangde’s plan
Wei Guangde entered the palace and found Li Fang, telling him that there was something urgent to report.
"Master Wei, isn't it making it difficult for me to come to the prince so early?"
Li Fang complained with a grimace.
Wei Guangde was also a little anxious, forgetting that Gao Gong was not in the palace now. King Yu had developed the habit of going to bed late and getting up late in order to enjoy himself.
However, what he wanted to report was not suitable for Yin Shizhen and others to know, so he smiled at Li Fang and said: "Eunuch Li, I am really in a hurry.
In this way, find me a room outside the inner courtyard. After the prince gets up and washes up, please bring him over directly. This matter will be kept confidential. It is best not to let Mr. Yin and others know. "
When Wei Guangde said this, he thought that it had been a long time since he came to the palace so early.
According to custom, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng usually go to see the copying progress of "Yongle Dadian" in the morning, and then return to the palace to eat before noon, and then stay until they go home.
Today is unusual, something big must have happened.
"Okay, I'll find you a room."
With that said, Li Fang took Wei Guangde to the inner courtyard and asked as he walked: "Did anyone see you when you came in?"
The reason why I asked this was because Wei Guangde said he wanted to keep it a secret. If he walked into the palace so grandly, it would be troublesome if any chatty boy saw him and the news reached Yin Shizhen's ears.
"By the way, please send someone to stop the concierge. Don't be afraid of the others."
Li Fang called another servant out to deliver the message, and soon found a room for Wei Guangde.
"Shandai, you rest here first, I'll go see if His Highness is up."
After Li Fang settled Wei Guangde, he turned around and entered the inner courtyard.
At this time, Mao Shi has passed, and all the major government offices in Beijing have begun to work.
The Fujian war report and memorial were sent to the Ministry of War and the General Affairs Department respectively, and were immediately sent to the cabinet. At the same time, the news spread quickly in various yamen.
"It's finally over. The last thief leader Lin Chaoxi was defeated and died. Fujian can be peaceful for a while."
"Yes, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi have defaulted on tax payments on the grounds of war disasters. Now there is finally no excuse."
Although the war took place in the south of the Yangtze River, officials in Beijing gradually came to realize that the salary payments were getting later and later every year, and the arrears were getting worse. As for the specific reasons, the Ministry of Revenue naturally blamed the military affairs.
Because of the war, various places have more or less suspended the payment of taxes on the grounds of military pay and security. The Ministry of Household Affairs cannot receive local money, so naturally it cannot pay wages on time.
The treasure notes can be issued in time, but who wants that thing?
It's better now. There is no reason for the local government to default on tax arrears. This year, officials in the capital should be able to get their salaries and annual gifts early.
In the cabinet, Xu Jie had already read the memorial sent by Fujian, but was speechless for a long time.
Yuan Wei and Yang Bo on the side could only sit there and wait for Xu Jie's attitude.
It was certainly a good thing that Fujian's counterinsurgency was successfully completed. They couldn't understand why Xu Jie had any hesitation at this time. Wouldn't it be better to just go to Xiyuan with the memorial and battle report?
Finally, Xu Jie put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at Yuan Wei and Yang Bo, and asked: "When there was chaos in Fujian in the early years, the imperial court asked Governor Hu Zongxian to suppress the thieves, but the war was unfavorable, so he could only maintain , just to prevent the traitors from entering Zhejiang.
Later, Zhang Zhen, the admiral of Guangdong and Guangxi, was appointed to supervise the Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi troops to suppress the bandits. Our officers and troops were unstoppable, and the rebellion was successfully suppressed in just half a year.
Looking at Hu Zongxian again, he has been governor of the provinces south of the Yangtze River for many years, but still has made no achievements, and the Japanese invasion has not been eradicated to this day. "
"My lord, what you mean is"
Yuan Wei heard this, and Xu Jie planned to use the Fujian victory report to continue to criticize Hu Zongxian for his ineffective military management.
There was no comparison before, but now there is.
"Earlier, I wanted to let Guangdong and Guangxi fight against the Japanese alone. Hu Zongxian continued to lead the army to encircle and suppress southern Zhili, Zhejiang and Fujian. Now it seems that Zhang Zhen is also a good candidate."
Having said this, Xu Jie looked at Yang Bo and asked, "What do you think if Zhang Zhen is allowed to governor Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian by appointment?"
Xu Jie posed the question to the Minister of War. Suppressing Hu Zongxian was not only a consensus reached between him and Yuan Wei, but also a hint from Emperor Jiajing.
Now, the Guangdong and Jiangxi armies are stationed in Fujian, which seems to be the opportunity to wrest Fujian from Hu Zongxian's hands. By then, the Jiangnan army commanded by Hu Zongxian will only be in Zhejiang. Although the military posts in South Zhili are nominally under his command, But in fact, it was the territory of Nanjing nobles, and Hu Zongxian could not command it at all.
However, there is a prerequisite for such a change, that is, Zhang Zhen can control the situation in Fujian and Guangdong.
In fact, as the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet, Xu Jie had already seen the Ministry of War's analysis of the movements of Japanese pirates in the official documents sent by the Ministry of War, and believed that the Japanese pirates might be concentrated in Fujian and Guangdong in the next few years.
Dividing Hu Zongxian's power may not necessarily be a good thing. Unless Emperor Jiajing has made up his mind to remove Hu Zongxian's military power, his proposal today is actually helping Hu Zongxian shirk his fault.
Xu Jie naturally believed in Yang Bo's judgment when it came to military matters. As long as Yang Bo thought it was feasible, he would be willing to take the risk.
"Let Zhang Zhen be the governor of Fujian and Guangdong"
Yang Bo just frowned slightly, as if he was thinking, and did not reject it outright, which gave Xu Jie hope.
"Governor Zhang Zhen, it's not impossible. Liu Xian and Yu Dayou can be appointed as the chief military officers of Fujian and Guangdong provinces respectively to suppress the Japanese. They are both veteran generals on the battlefield, so they should be safe."
If Liu Xian and Yu Dayou were not there and Zhang Zhen could lead the army to suppress the Japanese alone, Yang Bo would never be at ease.
Despite the fierce offensive of the army and the completion of the counter-insurgency war in a short period of time, in fact, before Liu Xian was transferred from Nanjing to Guangdong and Yu Dayou was transferred from Guangxi to Jiangxi, Zhang Nian commanded the two armies to fight against the rebellion. Rebellious, but the results were not ideal.
The annihilation of Zhang Lian's rebels was not so much the result of Zhang Nian's commanding, but rather the result of sitting on his own merits. The Ministry of War mobilized troops and generals, and sent all the generals in Jiangnan who could fight. If under such circumstances, it was not possible If we win, then Jiangnan will simply change its dynasty.
However, I can only think about this in my heart. Externally, I still have to say that the Ming Dynasty has many soldiers and generals, and it is of course easy to quell rebellions in every place.
Just when Xu Jie was feeling happy, he heard Yuan Wei's voice.
"Just afraid."
Yuan Wei just said these two words and didn't say much.
"If Maozhong has any concerns, you can tell me."
Xu Jie asked with a smile while stroking his beard.
Yuan Wei hesitated for a long time before saying: "Liu Xian and Yu Dayou are both men with outstanding military exploits. Can Mr. Zhang suppress them?"
"hehe."
Almost at the same time, Xu Jie and Yang Bo chuckled.
"It's understandable that Maozhong didn't know about it. Liu Xian made his fortune in the first place under Zhang Nian. He was the governor of Sichuan at that time, and Liu Xian was only a first-class citizen."
Xu Jie introduced to Yuan Wei with a smile. Xu Jie had been in the center for a long time, so he was naturally more familiar with the experience of the ministers in the DPRK.
"But speaking of which, it was because the Ministry of War failed in its duty that Liu Xian came forward."
Yang Bo smiled bitterly.
The two of them exchanged words with each other and quickly let Yuan Wei know the origin of Liu Xian.
Liu Xian was from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. He ran to Sichuan to make a living when he couldn't survive in his hometown. Later, he met a noble man who helped him pretend to be a Sichuan native to take the martial arts examination and pass the martial arts examination to join the army.
Later, the Miao rebellion in Sichuan became the starting point of Liu Xian's career. The governor and governor of Sichuan quelled the rebellion, fought bravely in the war, and rose through the ranks without fear of death.
Knowing the origin of Liu Xian and Zhang Nie, Yuan Wei naturally no longer worried about the cooperation between the two.
"As for Yu Dayou, he sometimes made decisions on the battlefield without authorization, but he never disobeyed military orders, so there is no need to worry about him disobeying orders."
Finally, Xu Jie commented on Yu Dayou and believed that he would never disobey Zhang Zhen's military orders.
"That being the case, I have no objection."
Yuan Wei's worries were gone at this time, so he naturally would not object to Xu Jie's proposal.
Yang Bo also nodded, agreeing with Xu Jie.
"Then I will draft a secret report in the name of the cabinet and the Ministry of War and send it to Xiyuan?"
Seeing that neither of them objected, Xu Jie made a decisive decision.
"Zhang Lian ran away? Did Zhang Zhen catch Luo Pao?"
In a secluded wing of Prince Yu's Mansion, Prince Yu had been brought here by Li Fang, and he also saw the letter from Yu Dayou sent by Wei Guangde.
Military affairs, military and national weapons, King Yu never expected that someone would make such a big mistake.
Both the court and the central government were already considering giving a reward to the general who was being judged this time. At this time, it was said that the leader of the bandits had escaped by boat.
At this time, King Yu lowered his head, thinking about what might happen next.
As Wei Guangde thought, King Yu hoped that if Zhang Lian encountered a shipwreck when he went to sea this time, it would be best to die outside. Although he was not killed by the army, as long as he did not appear in the Ming Dynasty, the matter would be considered a turning point.
The most fearful thing is that the imperial court will praise the meritorious soldiers in this battle, and then report Zhang Lian's whereabouts.
King Yu did not doubt the authenticity of the content of the letter, and Yu Dayou had no need to lie to him on this matter.
"Master Zhang Zhen must also know about this. I think he is more worried than us at this time. That is, if Zhang Lian appears in the Ming Dynasty again, he will definitely make some arrangements in the court."
Wei Guangde continued.
"You mean, he will tell Mr. Xu Ge secretly?"
King Yu raised his head and glanced at Wei Guangde, wondering why he said that.
Because Emperor Jiajing was not in court, the foreign officials wanted to send the news directly to the emperor, but there was no other way except through the cabinet and several ministers.
In other words, if this matter is to be concealed from Emperor Jiajing, there must be someone in the cabinet who can suppress it. As for the other ministers, it is estimated that no one will meddle in other affairs, except the minister of the Ministry of War.
"If this matter spreads, it won't have a big impact on us."
King Yu spoke at this time.
"Mainly, Zhifu will definitely be held responsible, and the others are those who were praised for this battle. In addition, the cabinet and the Ministry of War will definitely be severely punished. By then, Xu Ge will probably not be able to secure his position."
The current official positions of the people in Prince Yu's Palace naturally do not have to bear the consequences of this matter, but it will affect Prince Yu's most powerful force in the court. Even if Yan Song has resigned, Prince Jing has already taken the vassal.
Although after the incident, the possibility that Emperor Jiajing would anger Prince Yu's palace was very small, Wei Guangde was still unwilling to take this risk, so the best solution was to eliminate the matter.
"We can't actually do anything, not even get involved."
King Yu suddenly said.
Wei Guangde nodded, "His Highness is right, but for now, nothing can happen to Mr. Xu Ge."
"What if Mr. Xu Ge doesn't care about Zhang Nian?"
King Yu thought for a while before asking.
"Who is responsible for Mr. Zhang's promotion from governor to admiral of Guangdong and Guangxi? King Yu should know that the cabinet is now discussing letting Mr. Zhang establish the governor's office.
If Zhang Lian had jumped out before the imperial court issued the decree, perhaps the matter would have ended like this. But once the imperial court decreed the reward, Mr. Xu Ge must keep Zhang Nian no matter what he thought.
This is the first big thing he has done since he took over as chief assistant. If something goes wrong, tsk tsk."
Wei Guangde explained to King Yu with a faint smile.
This involves the relationship and face between officials. In the final analysis, it is prestige.
If Xu Jie cannot keep Zhang Nian, what will the officials who are attached to him think?
Regardless of whether you can save it or not, you must give it a try.
Wei Guangde was certain that Xu Jie would definitely protect people after the incident, and he would at least try his best to give others a thought.
King Yu nodded at this time, acknowledging Wei Guangde's words.
If Yu Dayou's troubles were found out, he would be responsible for not reporting what he knew, but with Zhang Zhen standing in front of him, Yu Dayou could be said to be afraid of being suppressed by the officialdom, so he did not dare to speak out.
When the sky falls, there are tall men who can hold it up. The tall men here are Zhang Zhen and Xu Jie.
Prince Yu's Mansion only needed to take the final step to protect Yu Dayou, and that was at Xu Jie.
King Yu wanted to understand this and knew that Wei Guangde was actually sending him a message to let him know about this.
"Then do you want to talk to Mr. Xu Ge?"
King Yu suddenly had a whim and asked.
"Your Highness, it would be great if we knew about this."
Wei Guangde smiled and said: "Now that Mr. Yan Ge has left, Mr. Xu Ge no longer has a strong opponent in the court. Mr. Xu Ge's attitude towards the palace is also worthy of our observation."
King Yu looked at Wei Guangde, was slightly surprised, then smiled and nodded.
At first, he thought Wei Guangde was just sending him a message, but it seemed he also wanted to remind him, so he also handed him a knife.
Although Xu Gelao and Prince Yu's Mansion have maintained a good alliance for many years, they both faced this powerful opponent and had to join forces to fight.
Now that the enemy has been eliminated, thinking about Yan Song's attitude towards his side, King Yu cannot guarantee that Xu Jie will still be the same as before.
And if Xu Jie really changes in this matter, then with a little design, once he takes action to protect people, he can use this to influence him.
Now King Yu's right-hand men are Gao Gong and Xu Jie respectively. Gao Gong is because of his relationship with King Yu. King Yu almost completely trusts him. Xu Jie is the powerful one in the court. What King Yu wants to do is Almost all need help from Xu Jie.
What does Wei Guangde have?
Even if he lacks King Yu's trust in Gao Gong and does not have Xu Jie's power, then he can only consider everything for King Yu and win King Yu's absolute trust in him.
I thought that Gao Gong might be a short-lived ghost. At that time, when Xu Jie's disciple Zhang Juzheng came to power, there was no telling that King Yu would give the position of chief minister to himself, an absolute direct descendant of Prince Yu's palace.