…

…

Zhao Junchen prepared only one memorial, and he had already written it as soon as possible.

But the number of secret letters Zhao Junchen is writing is extremely large, so starting from this morning, Zhao Junchen has been writing until now, but he still has not finished it.

Dozens of secret letters that have been written are now placed in a thick pile in the corner of the desk.

The memorial was naturally written to Emperor Deqing. The content was nothing more than reporting to Emperor Deqing the recent developments in the situation in Nanjing. It repeatedly hinted at the huge power and wanton behavior of Zhou Shangjing after colluding with the Jiangnan Jin gentry, and even directly stated - "

The Jin gentry in the south of the Yangtze River regarded themselves as the dogs and horses of Zhou's first assistant. They only knew Zhou's first assistant but did not know the imperial court. As long as Zhou's first assistant gave a slight hint, the Jin gentry would spare no effort and would not hesitate to disobey the imperial decree."

Zhao Junchen wrote such a memorial naturally to emphasize the seriousness of the situation in Nanjing and the difficulty of his own situation.

In other words, if Zhao Junchen did something extremely outrageous next, he would be forced to have no choice but to let Emperor Deqing be mentally prepared in advance.

This is the common expectation management in later generations.

After Emperor Deqing managed expectations in this way, when he learned the final outcome of the situation in Nanjing afterwards, his anger could be slightly reduced.

As for those secret letters, they were all written to Zhao Junchen's many confidants from all walks of life.

These confidants include both civil servants and military generals, as well as centers and places.

Among the civil servants, there is no need to mention the "Zhao Party" officials in the major yamen in the capital. In the local area, there are also Shanxi Governor Zuo Lanshan, Shandong Chief Envoy Li Lide, Sichuan Governor Zhang Shengde and other feudal officials, as well as

Dozens of state officials.

Among the generals, there are the military attaches from Shaanxi and Gansu to the west, the generals from Liaodong Town to the east, the "Jubao Trading Company" in Xuanfu Town to the north, and the Zheng family from Taiwan and Zhang Chengxun, the commander-in-chief of Guangxi, to the south.

People... In addition, of course, Guan Wuyuan, the Governor of the Beijing Camp who is currently in the limelight in the military world, is also indispensable!

Just by looking at this list, you can get a glimpse of the depth of Zhao Junchen's layout, the number of cronies, and the ambition of Zhao Junchen in recent years!

Although the specific contents of these secret messages are different, the goal direction is completely the same, that is, to make their confidants reach out to ask for money and food allocations from the Ministry of Household Treasury!

Moreover, Zhao Junchen was extremely considerate and made up various irrefutable reasons for them!

For example, Shanxi has been suffering from poor harvests for many years, so Shanxi governor Zuo Lanshan should submit a memorial requesting the court to reduce the autumn taxes for Shanxi people, and also ask for a sum of money to help the people. Otherwise, if refugees from Shanxi flock to the capital, who will

I can’t take responsibility either!

For another example, the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu have just recovered the Hetao Corridor. To stabilize their rule, it will naturally require the continuous investment of astronomical amounts of resources. Asking for funding from the imperial court is also part of the question;

For example, the Beijing-Hangzhou River in Shandong seems to be blocked again, so Li Lide, the governor of Shandong Province, requested funds from the court to dredge the river. This is of course a good reason. Otherwise, if the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal becomes unnavigable, it will affect the water transportation plan in the near future.

That is a major event that brings turmoil to the country;

For another example, due to Zhao Junchen's northern tour some time ago, Liaodong Town had just experienced a turmoil. At a time when the morale of the military was unstable and morale was low, Liaodong Town requested more military expenses from the Ministry of Household Treasury to stabilize military morale and improve military morale.

Boosting morale and preventing lower-level soldiers from mutinying and roaring in the camp are also top priorities and cannot tolerate opposition from the central government;

There are so many and so many.

At the same time, Zhao Junchen also wrote a secret letter to several chief officials of the central household office in the capital, asking them to be as lenient as possible when they audit various court expenditures recently, and not to be as cautious and strict as before.

When other yamen apply for various funds from the Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue, they will be approved as soon as possible and the full amount will be allocated.

In this way, after Zhao Junchen sends out all these secret messages and his confidants follow the instructions, the result will be obvious!

That is to say - the imperial court will surely face an unprecedented financial crisis!

The national treasury's silver and grain reserves will also be quickly depleted at an unprecedented speed.

By that time, the temple will be in trouble both internally and externally, and everyone in the imperial court, starting with Emperor Deqing, will be troubled by the issue of money and food turnover!

Thinking of this, although Zhao Junchen's wrist was sore from holding a pen for a long time to write letters, he could not help but flash a sneer at the corner of his mouth.

At three quarters in the morning of this day, just when Zhao Junchen was about to write the entire secret letter, a report from the great scholar Huo Zhengyuan suddenly sounded outside the room.

"Do you have free time, Minister Zhao? I have something that I want to report to you in person!"

After hearing Huo Zhengyuan's voice, Zhao Junchen dropped the rabbit hair in his hand, turned his sore and stiff wrist, raised his head and said: "Scholar Huo, please come in!"

The next moment, Huo Zhengyuan opened the door and entered the room holding a memorial.

Afterwards, Huo Zhengyuan quickly walked to Zhao Junchen's desk and handed the memorial to Zhao Junchen: "Zhao Gechen, according to your instructions, I have written a secret document. The content is that I was ordered to go south to take charge of the ocean plan.

When I was secretly searching for the fairy island for Your Majesty, I found that the cost of this project was much higher than expected, so I begged Your Majesty to allocate more money..."

Zhao Junchen raised his hand and took Huo Zhengyuan's secret book, opened it and looked at it carefully.

After a while, Zhao Junchen nodded with satisfaction and said: "Very good, I can't find any faults! His Majesty is now obsessed with the 'Tongji Temple' and the Three Saints of the South China Sea. The search for immortals and Taoism has become the top priority in his mind, and he is fully counting on it."

The Three Saints of the South China Sea gave him the method of immortality, so there is a high probability that he will not refuse your request... Well, please submit this secret to the capital center as soon as possible!"

After Huo Zhengyuan retrieved the secret, he added: "There is one more thing... Xu Guogong's mansion just sent someone to express his strong dissatisfaction to Xiaguan. He bluntly said that Xiaguan has repeatedly caused troubles in the past few days and constantly instigated noble officials.

Being an enemy of the Jin gentry has seriously affected the neutral stance of the noble forces. In the eyes of the Xu family, it is an extremely serious provocation! Finally, the Xu family envoy warned the official that this time the matter should be forgotten, but if

If my subordinates want to stir up trouble again, then the Xu family will fully retaliate, completely abandon neutrality, and directly stand on the side of the Jin gentry forces and Zhou Shoufu to become our enemies."

This kind of unabashed warning, especially coming from the Xu family, the head of a powerful family with two kingdoms, is undoubtedly a very serious matter.

But when Huo Zhengyuan was telling his story, he looked relaxed.

It was originally very simple. The Xu family's warning seemed serious, but after all, it was just a private warning, and this warning could be summed up in four words - "This will not happen next time." This meant that the Xu family did not intend to pursue Zhao Junchen and Huo Zhengyuan this time.

transgressive behavior.

What's more, the Xu family must have guessed that Huo Zhengyuan's instigation of Xungui came from Zhao Junchen. However, the Xu family's warning was only directed at Huo Zhengyuan, but not Zhao Junchen, the mastermind behind the scenes. This situation also meant that Xu

I have no intention of breaking up with the "Zhao Party".

Therefore, Huo Zhengyuan naturally does not pay special attention to it. He is just a little regretful that he cannot completely drag down the noble forces.

On the other side, Zhao Junchen also didn't care much and nodded: "The Xu family's prestige among the nobles is too high. As long as the Xu family doesn't nod, it is impossible for the nobles to end up confronting Zhou Shangjing and instigating them.

It's already the limit for some nobles to help us spread rumors! What a pity... If the noble forces are willing to fully help me, then this situation in Nanjing will undoubtedly be much easier, but now the noble forces still have to remain neutral, then we

We can only act according to the established plan!"

Upon hearing the words "established plan", Huo Zhengyuan's expression suddenly became serious.

At this moment, Huo Zhengyuan is the only person who knows Zhao Junchen's overall plan.

Therefore, Huo Zhengyuan also knew very well what Zhao Junchen's "established plan" meant! What kind of uproar it would cause, shaking the country! And... what price Zhao Junchen himself would have to pay!

After hesitating for a moment, Huo Zhengyuan confirmed again: "Zhao Gechen, do you really want to act according to the established plan?"

As he spoke, Huo Zhengyuan's eyes swept across the thick confidential letter on Zhao Junchen's desk and the dense letter in his hand.

Zhao Junchen still did not hesitate and said decisively: "If you want to make a comeback, this is the only way!"

"But... the risks are too great, and the consequences are too high! Such a thing as dying together with Zhou Shoufu..."

Huo Zhengyuan still had doubts.

Just as Huo Zhengyuan said just now, Zhao Junchen's follow-up plan can be summed up in one sentence - he will die together with Zhou Shangjing!

Of course, the so-called perishing together does not refer to perishing together in the sense of vital signs, but refers to the political life of both parties perishing together!

In short, Zhao Junchen plans to completely end Zhou Shangjing's political life and make Zhou Shangjing completely withdraw from the temple at the cost of losing his power!

Obviously, this is a very extreme method, so it's no wonder that Huo Zhengyuan is worried.

But on the other side, Zhao Junchen still had a relaxed expression and said slowly: "Master Huo, in your opinion, what is the highest state of struggle, whether it is military struggle, political struggle, or commercial struggle?"

Huo Zhengyuan really had never thought about such a thing. After hesitating for a moment, he replied: "Is... to kill everyone?"

Zhao Junchen shook his head: "Killing them all is just the result of struggle, not the means of struggle! In my opinion, the most brilliant means during struggle is just four simple words - bullying the weak!"

"Bullying?"

Huo Zhengyuan became more and more confused.

Since ancient times, people have always praised various miracles and great achievements in which the weak defeated the strong. However, the word "bullying" has always been used in a derogatory sense. How can it be regarded as the highest state of struggle?

After seeing Huo Zhengyuan's doubts, Zhao Junchen smiled and explained: "Yes, it is bullying the weak! Since ancient times, no matter in official circles, battlefields or shopping malls, there seem to be occasional examples of the weak defeating the strong, and they are constantly praised by the world as miracles.

, but if you understand it carefully, you will find that there is never any victory of the weak against the strong in this world, only the strong bullying the weak!

In many examples of the weak defeating the strong, the weak side only seems to be weak, but compared to the seemingly strong side, the weak side can still find its own local advantages, and even take the initiative to shape its own local advantages, and then

Continuously use local advantages to repeatedly expand the results, accumulate small victories into big victories, and finally transform local advantages into overall advantages!

All the examples of the weak defeating the strong in history actually followed this method, so they achieved the seemingly miracle of the weak defeating the strong! But in the specific struggle process, the weaker side actually always used more to fight.

Less, use the strong to attack the weak! If the strong side is stronger than the weak side in all aspects, and the weak side cannot even create local advantages, then there will be no miracle of the weak defeating the strong!"

The truth explained by Zhao Junchen is like the liberation war of later generations. The Kuomintang government seemed to have advantages in all aspects, but in fact the economic vitality and mass mobilization capacity of the liberated areas were much stronger than those of the Kuomintang-ruled areas.

During the actual war, the People's Liberation Army has always focused on concentrating its superior forces to attack the smaller ones with more troops, and to defeat the weaker ones with the masses.

Among them, the most obvious example is the Battle of Huaihai. It seems that the Kuomintang "800,000 to 600,000 has the advantage," but the truth is - the liberated areas also mobilized more than 5 million logisticians!

It is precisely because Zhao Junchen has carefully studied these examples that he can understand the essence of the so-called "defeating the strong with the weak".

Huo Zhengyuan is a smart man. Although Zhao Junchen could not use the example of the Liberation War to further explain, he still roughly understood what Zhao Junchen meant. He couldn't help but laugh and shook his head: "The word "bullying the weak by force" is too ugly.

These sixteen words are more appropriate: use one's own strengths to attack the other's weaknesses, and use one's own weaknesses to offset the other's strengths!"

Zhao Junchen also shook his head and smiled: "I think the four words 'bullying' are the best. There is no embellishment or cover-up, and it can get to the essence!"
To be continued...