Chapter 460 The undercurrent under calmness
The arrival of the Queen marked the final completion of the new regime, and everything was settled.
Many changes have taken place in Jinling City.
Concubine Xu officially received the gold book and gold seal, was named queen, and issued an edict to the world.
With one family and one queen, two princes and two princesses, the Zhongshan Palace suddenly rose again and became the most prominent family of heroes in the Ming Dynasty.
But now the Xu family is only the first family in a symbolic sense. In terms of status and reputation, no one can match it. However, in the court, it no longer has the strong influence it once had. This is not just because the current emperor is a
A very strong emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang was also a strong emperor, but that did not affect the formation of factions among many courtiers.
The only reason is that the Xu family lacks a strong leader. Xu Huizu is a veteran who has been honed for many years in terms of his ability to run the army and his methods in the court. As the heir to the Xu family, he was taken over by Xu.
General Da was trained since childhood to be the unyielding leader of the Xu family, but now he has been ordered to shut himself up and reflect on his mistakes, and has done nothing.
Xu Zengshou may be a reluctant candidate to be his successor. With Xu Zengshou's prestige and qualifications, he can be convinced by the Xu clique and use it, but he died young. Xu Yingxu's achievements in all aspects
His ability is very average, and he has been a local official without this prestige. And Xu Jingchang is still young. Although his uncle is no longer in charge, he is still alive, and his second uncle is also there. As a junior of the Xu family, he still has a long way to go.
Gotta go.
The old ministers of Jianwen are being regrouped, either attached to the popular Jingnan ministers, or attached to the old Jianwen ministers who were reused by Yongle. In terms of generals, as the Xu family of Zhongshan King and the Li family of Cao Guogong have gradually faded out of the military, Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng and other Jingnan ministers have
The military ministers have just come to power, and the generals also need a process of testing, contacting, understanding, and running in with them. It will take a long time to form a new faction. The formation of factions in the military is much more complicated than in the court.
The Empress has frequently hosted banquets recently to entertain the families of the Jingnan heroes and Jianwen officials. She knows that although her husband has sat on the throne, he is still unable to control this huge empire. The emperor is aloof, and his decrees and decisions need to be made.
The civil and military ministers carry out the execution, and the imperial wives have a very strong influence on these civil and military ministers. Taking the wife route can help their husbands win people's hearts.
Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui now have to attend various banquets. The old ministers in Peking express their friendship to the princes they are familiar with, and the old ministers in Jianwen use this kind of courtesy to express their loyalty to Emperor Yongle. The three princes sometimes have to
We went to banquets together, and sometimes we had to go to banquets separately. Due to his personality and physical reasons, the emperor's eldest son Zhu Gaochi, who was not well known to everyone, did not have many opportunities to show up.
However, even though he did not appear in public, the emperor's eldest son Zhu Gaochi still left a deep impression on everyone. A young man in his twenties was so obese, and whether it was his father or his brother,
They are all tall, sturdy, and brave people. Such an alien is indeed unforgettable at first sight.
However, although he was too fat, he was by no means a fool. During the limited banquets, Zhu Gaochi's demeanor and conversation left a deep impression on Jinling officials. He was a gentle and elegant man.
The prince was also a kind-hearted prince, and he won great favor from the civil servants. Some people already praised Zhu Gaochi, saying that he was the same as Zhu Biao, the original prince Yiwen, in terms of temperament, character and morals.
However, due to physical reasons, Zhu Gaochi did not show much publicity. As a result, the emperor's second son Zhu Gaoxu appeared to be extremely active. Perhaps he wanted to share the responsibilities for his eldest brother. After all, Zhu Di ascended the throne as the emperor in order to reduce the resistance to governance.
, carried out a bloody purge of the stubborn Jianwen loyalists. After arriving in Beijing, in order to restore the image of her husband, the Queen Empress is trying hard to create a peaceful and peaceful atmosphere. She frequently entertains her wife. As a prince, attending more banquets will obviously also have an effect.
to the same effect.
Today, it is rare for the three princes to show up together again, because the guest today is the auxiliary Duke Yang Xu. Perhaps many people still don’t know why Yang Xu, who was originally unknown, ranked sixth on the list of Jingnan heroes, but the three princes
The princes were insiders. They knew very well how much contribution Yang Xu had made to his father's empire, and they themselves relied on Yang Xu's help to save their lives at least twice.
Therefore, as soon as the invitation from Duke Fu arrived, they immediately rejected all the conflicting banquets and attended on time. There were too many people at the banquet today, and the guests were three princes, so Xia Xun was not hosting a family banquet, but a private banquet.
After descending from the Juxian Building, the emperor's relatives, meritorious ministers, civil and military officials from both sides of the court gathered here. Several of them were Prince Consort and Commander-in-Chief, including the Prince Consort of Mei and Yin.
Mei Yin and Xia Xun only had a tentative fight and then stopped fighting. Outsiders were still completely unaware of the struggle between them. Even if they were aware of it, even if the two of them were fighting to the death in private, no one knew that a fight of this nature
At banquets, you will still invite each other, you will still talk and laugh, just like friends for many years. This is officialdom, a completely different battlefield.
However, there are still people who are not accustomed to the rules of this kind of officialdom. Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng have returned to Beijing, and they have also received invitations from Xia Xun. Zhu Neng came, Xu Jingchang came, but Qiu Fu did not come. The Fifth Army Governor's Mansion
There are three princes in total, and Xu Jingchang is undoubtedly more on Xia Xun's side. Even though he is from the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, in front of Zhu Neng and Qiu Fu, two veterans of the Peking Department who have fought many battles,
A young boy like him is completely unqualified to be on an equal footing with them.
As for Xu Jingchang, who was like his father, and whose emotions were more important than reason, he didn't care and was too lazy to curry favor with the two senior officials. He and Xia Xun were relatively close to each other, and Xia Xun once risked his life to save his father, although he didn't
Success, he has to inherit this love. Just based on this, he is much closer to Xia Xun. Besides, through his aunt, he also knows how many times Xia Xun has saved lives for the current emperor's family. This
The emperor's trust in the character is no less than that of Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng. He cannot fail, let alone himself.
Zhu Neng's attendance at the banquet was not for Xia Xun's sake. After Zhu Neng returned to Beijing, he already knew that Xia Xun whipped Zheng Xiaobu to death and demoted Xie Guangsheng, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army. Although the whole story was clear.
However, Xia Xun's unscrupulous methods made him feel very uncomfortable. Among the former ministers around King Yan, Zhang Yu, who had the best friendship with Xia Xun, was worse than Qiu Fu. Now this happened.
, the incense feeling in the past has faded away.
However, there were three princes attending the banquet today. He and Zhang Yu were the chief guards of the Yan Palace at the beginning. The three princes were attending the banquet, so he had to come. This is also Zhu Neng's way of being mature and prudent. Even though he and Xia Xun had a relationship
There is no need for him to show such obvious contradictions. After all, the officialdom is not a battlefield. To eliminate a person, there is no need to be tense. Besides, his displeasure only made him feel disgusted with Xia Xun, but he did not regard Xia Xun as a human being because of this.
Opponent.
Qiu Fu, on the other hand, obviously has a fiery temper and does not rub sand in his eyes at all. Whether Zheng Xiaobu dies or not is none of his business, and it is none of his business whether Xie Guangsheng goes to Lanzhou to have a meal and drink dew.
The Military Governor's Mansion hurriedly made a decision and went to the local area to receive and reorganize the army. Now he couldn't even remember what those named Xie and Zheng looked like.
But now that he has become the person in charge of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, anyone who touches him will not give him face, and he is too lazy to save face for the other party. Compared with Zhu Neng's sophistication, Qiu Fu chose tit-for-tat
, he just wanted to tell Yang Xu clearly: You have offended me!
It's a pity that Yang Xu invited too many people today. Not to mention one missing Qiu Fu, even if ten Qiu Fu were missing, no one would notice him. What's more, today's focus is on the three princes.
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In the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, Qiu Fu was summoning several governors of his office to discuss matters.
Governor Chen Xuan originally received Xia Xun's invitation, but unfortunately he was intercepted by people sent by Qiu Fu before he could go out. He had no choice but to send a family member to explain the situation to Xia Xun, and then followed the five
The captain of the Military Governor's Office rushed back to participate in the discussion. He was specially summoned today because Chen Xuan was the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and had personally gone to the coast to defend against Japanese pirates. Qiu Fu summoned people to discuss this matter just to deal with Japanese pirates.
Qiu Fu will soon be sixty years old, more than twenty years older than Zhu Neng. Of course, Xia Xun, that young boy, is even less likely to be in his eyes. This is why he especially cannot forgive Xia Xun's offense: too
He didn't respect the old man. He didn't take Xia Xun's banquet to heart, but he always remembered what the emperor said. After he and Zhu Neng returned to Beijing, the emperor summoned him alone and specifically mentioned the construction of the navy and the fight against Japanese pirates.
The idea. Today he called Chen Xuan, the commander who knew the situation of the navy and the Japanese pirates, just to plan a counterattack against the Japanese pirates.
Qiu Fu sat on the throne and said to Chen Xuan: "The emperor summoned him the day before yesterday and mentioned the rampant Japanese pirates along the coast. How could it be so difficult to deal with a few bandits in a small country like Jianwen? I think it was Jianwen who was in power and Chongwen.
The disaster caused by suppressing force! Tell me what you know about the situation to this governor, and I plan to attack the Japanese pirates who invade our sea areas head-on, eliminate the Japanese troubles, and alleviate the worries of the Holy One."
Chen Xuan said: "Grand Commander, the Japanese pirates are far less powerful than our Ming Navy. However, it is very difficult for us to deal with them. It is not easy to annihilate them and it is not easy to defend them."
"How do you say this?"
"Great Governor, when the Duke of Fu was ordered to recruit pirates from Anshuang Island last time, the official mentioned this matter to the Duke of Fu. The Duke also agreed with the difficulties mentioned by the official. Our guards along the coast...
"
Qiu Fu curled his lips and said disdainfully: "Yang Xu, hum, Yang Xu doesn't know anything about soldiers! What does a young boy know? I have been in the army all my life and have experienced hundreds of battles. Whether it is the elite cavalry of Beiyuan or the imperial court that has fought against me several times.
I have defeated large armies, but a few Japanese barbarians, what do they mean?"
When Sun Xuan saw that he was so arrogant, he quickly reminded him: "Captain, the naval battle and the land battle are two different things. When the Yuan people came to the Central Plains, they were at their peak of martial prowess. Their iron cavalry roamed the world and were invincible. However, the two crossings
The Eastern Expedition was a complete defeat, we..."
Halfway through his words, he saw Qiu Fu's cold eyes and couldn't help but swallow the second half of his words.
Qiu Fu said calmly: "Don't say it if you want to build up other people's ambitions and destroy your own prestige. It is true that my father has never fought a water war, and it is true that he has never had any dealings with Japanese people. But, fighting, isn't that what it is?
Son, what's the difference between water and land warfare? Just talk about the situation along the coast!"
Chen Xuan said: "Yes, according to the official's understanding, these Japanese pirates are mostly defeated soldiers of the Japanese civil war, frustrated warriors, bankrupt businessmen, farmers who have lost their land, and have no livelihood, so they gang up to invade our border areas. The official said that they
They are not the direct enemy of our navy, because their ships are very bad. Their largest ship can only accommodate 300 people, smaller ones can accommodate more than 100 people, and even smaller ones can only accommodate dozens of people.
Most of the ship was made of large logs cut into squares and joined together. No nails were used at the joints, only iron sheets. No hemp tendons or tung oil were used to seal the gaps. Instead, grass was used to plug the leaks. It was labor-intensive and material-intensive, and it was not very strong.
, if our navy's warships catch up, they will fall apart as soon as they collide. Moreover, their sails and rudders are very crude. They can only sail with the wind and cannot cut the wind. When there is a strong wind or there is no wind, they can only
They can lower the sails and use the oars, so most of the Japanese pirates take advantage of the spring floods and autumn floods to invade our coast..."
Qiu Fu said impatiently: "Ships are used to carry people. It doesn't need to be explained in detail. What kind of weapons do they have and how are they used to fighting? Please tell me!"
Chen Xuan's heart went cold when he heard this. Governor Qiu was a complete layman in water warfare! In maritime warfare, the most important thing is the ship. The Japanese pirates' ship has not yet been fully understood, and one's own warships have not yet been fully understood, so it is time to study the opponent.
What weapons did they use and what tactics did they use? But when most of the governors asked, Chen Xuan had no choice but to change the topic and said: "Japanese pirates have hard bows and sharp arrows.
Compared with our coastal officers and soldiers, they are much better. Some of them only have spears and hooks, but the better warriors all use three swords."
"Three knives?"
"Yes, a long knife, which is very fierce when cutting. It is also equipped with a small knife for miscellaneous purposes. In addition, it also wears a sharp blade. There are two types. The one about one foot long is called the Jie Shu Dao, and the one more than one foot long.
To be continued...