Chapter 1172. The Civil Revolution in Nanjing (5).
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At this time, in the Guanjiang Tower, Huo Zhengyuan, Jiang Zheng, Lu De and others had changed their positions and were looking at the Nanjing Rites Yamen through the window on the other side.
Compared with the unobstructed view when observing the north bank of the Qinhuai River not long ago, the field of vision at this time was much worse. I could only see from a distance that the situation near the Nanjing Rites Yamen suddenly lost control, and a large number of people took the initiative to attack the Nanjing Rites Yamen.
, but the details cannot be observed.
But for a few people, seeing this scene was enough.
If the common people take the initiative to attack the government offices, it means that civil unrest has occurred, and it will be easy to expand the situation and involve the entire Nanjing Six Ministries.
At the same time, this situation also means that He Hao has completed his "mission" at the cost of his life!
As a result, Lu De's expression became increasingly sad and guilty, and he began his own memorial activities.
Lu De's memorial method was very simple. He just prepared a pot of wine in advance and slowly sprinkled it on the ground.
Then, Lu De murmured softly: "Brother He, have a good trip!
I will try to take good care of your family and that adopted brother!
But if there is an afterlife, don’t make promises easily without thinking about the consequences like in this life... Some promises are too heavy for mortals like you and me to bear..."
On the side, Huo Zhengyuan and Jiang Zheng quietly observed Lu De's memorial act. They both felt a little sarcastic in their hearts, thinking that Lu De was a bit hypocritical. He was obviously the one who pushed He Hao into a desperate situation, but he still pretended to express sadness.
and guilt.
However, upon hearing Lu De's muttering, both Huo Zhengyuan and Jiang Zheng were moved - the implication of Lu De's words seemed to be that he himself was currently being forced into a dangerous promise.
Can't get out of it.
Moreover, Lu De seemed to have other intentions when he deliberately said this in front of Huo Zhengyuan and Jiang Zheng.
On the other side, Lu De obviously understood the sarcasm and doubts in the hearts of Huo Zhengyuan and Jiang Zheng, but he did not explain himself further. He just turned his eyes to Huo Zhengyuan and invited him with a seemingly respectful attitude: "Master Huo, for you,
The fact that they have been staying in Nanjing these days is actually not only something that the students have speculated about, but His Highness the Seventh Prince and Grand Master Wang have also thought about and prepared for it! The two of them have said many times that they want to meet Huo Huo
Grand Bachelor, please meet as soon as possible and communicate candidly... After all, the current situation in Nanjing City is very complicated and chaotic, and it is best for the actions of all parties to be coordinated!
Therefore, I would like to take the liberty of going overboard here, and on behalf of His Highness the Seventh Prince and Grand Master Wang, I would like to invite you, Grand Master Huo, to visit Zhanyuan at what time tomorrow, but what do you think, Grand Master Huo?"
Huo Zhengyuan's expression did not change. He seemed to have guessed Lu De's invitation. He nodded and said: "Of course, before noon tomorrow, I will try to send a note to Zhanyuan and agree on a time to meet with His Highness the Seventh Prince and Grand Master Wang.
Bit."
"In that case, the student, on behalf of His Highness the Seventh Prince and Grand Master Wang, is waiting for news from you!" At this point, Lu De turned his eyes to Jiang Zheng aside and asked: "Speaking of which, I don't know who this brother is.
Since we met until now, I haven’t seen this brother express his views, but to be able to follow the great scholar Huo and be valued by the great scholar Huo, his identity must be extraordinary.”
Lu De had long seen that Jiang Zheng's identity was unusual, but now that he met Huo Zhengyuan, even though Lu De hinted several times, Huo Zhengyuan never meant to introduce Jiang Zheng to Lu De. Jiang Zheng himself saw
After Lu De, he didn't say a word from beginning to end, nor did he mean to introduce himself. He just watched expressionlessly.
Therefore, seeing that the meeting was about to end, Lu De simply asked directly.
However, after hearing Lu De's inquiry, Jiang Zheng finally spoke, but he still avoided talking about his identity. He just bowed to Lu De and said slowly: "I'm just a nobody.
He cannot be compared with the talented scholar Lu, and is not worth mentioning."
Lu De's eyes flashed slightly, but he did not continue to ask questions. He just said again: "When things have developed to this point, as the people attack the government offices, a civil uprising is irreversible, and the chaos caused will inevitably happen quickly.
Spread throughout the city, the juniors don’t want to be affected, so they want to leave here as soon as possible, but I don’t know what the big scholar Huo thinks?”
After seeing Huo Zhengyuan nodding in approval but not showing any intention of accompanying him, Lu De added: "In that case, I will leave first, hoping to see Academician Huo and this brother again soon.
"
After saying that, Lu De bowed to Huo Zhengyuan and Jiang Zheng again, then turned and left.
*
Seeing Lu De turn around and disappear downstairs, Huo Zhengyuan was silent for a moment and suddenly asked Jiang Zheng: "What do you think of Lu De?"
After Jiang Zheng thought for a moment, he replied, "He is a very arrogant person. Even after meeting you, Master Huo, his attitude is quite humble, but there is no humility at all, and he is quite mean.
It even gives people a sense of elusiveness... It is definitely not to be underestimated!”
Huo Zhengyuan's expression was unclear. After nodding lightly, he asked: "Then, who do you think is better and worse than this talented scholar Lu? Do you have the ability to deal with him? Also, do you think we... this time...
…Can Zhao Gechen’s intention be successfully realized? What are the chances?”
Hearing Huo Zhengyuan's question, Jiang Zheng's expression remained unchanged, but his tone was full of confidence, saying: "As the saying goes, 'Snake has his own way, rat has his own way', this talented man from Lu has his own methods.
, the juniors also have their own abilities that they are good at, with different emphasis, and they cannot easily judge the strengths and weaknesses, but the juniors believe that their abilities can also affect the situation and play a role, and this talent of Lu Da will not be the only one!
In addition, Grand Master Wang Baoren's methods and scheming were originally extraordinary, and His Highness the Seventh Prince was very powerful. After these two people worked together and were assisted by a talented person like Lu De, they were definitely an extremely difficult enemy.
...Coupled with the forces of the 'Zhou Party' who have been hiding in the dark and watching with unknown intentions... If we want to successfully realize Zhao Gechen's intention this time and pick peaches in Nanjing's officialdom, it will be extremely difficult!
But if we go all out, I think we can have at least a 50% chance of winning. After all, our power is also very strong. Not only do we have wise men like you, the great scholar Huo, personally in charge, but we also have Cao Wenbin, the minister of household affairs in Nanjing, as an internal agent within the Nanjing officialdom.
, and we also have the governor of Southern Zhili, Mr. Huang Ge, and the United Shipping Company as strong reinforcements... Therefore, we are not the only ones who think the enemy is difficult, in the eyes of our opponents, we are also difficult to deal with!"
"Do you think there is a 50% chance? It's not very low. It's worth giving it a try..."
Hearing Jiang Zheng's words, Huo Zhengyuan's expression became more smiley and relaxed, and then said: "What Lu De said just now is reasonable. As the people began to attack the Nanjing Rites Yamen, this civil uprising is irreversible.
, the entire city of Nanjing will soon be in complete chaos. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall. We must leave here as soon as possible and return to our residence. We must also act as soon as possible to implement Zhao Gechen's plan!"
After saying that, Huo Zhengyuan took the lead and walked downstairs with a calm attitude.
Seeing Huo Zhengyuan's performance, Jiang Zheng couldn't help but have a subtle smile on his face.
This time, Zhao Junchen arranged for Jiang Zheng to come to Nanjing urgently to assist Huo Zhengyuan, with a total of two intentions.
The first intention was to let Huo Zhengyuan, Huang Yourong and others take advantage of the chaotic situation in Nanjing's officialdom to try to test Jiang Zheng's loyalty and stance.
Regarding this intention, Zhao Junchen had made it clear to Huo Zhengyuan, Huang Yourong and others, and Jiang Zheng himself could probably guess some of it.
But for the second level of intention, Zhao Junchen only clearly revealed Jiang Zheng, but deliberately concealed it from Huo Zhengyuan, Huang Yourong and the others, and Huo Zhengyuan, Huang Yourong and the others did not guess it at all.
That is, Zhao Junchen wants to use Jiang Zheng's upright and firm character to make up for Huo Zhengyuan's character weaknesses!
What Zhao Junchen said at the time was - "When you arrive in Nanjing, you will definitely meet Master Huo Zhengyuan. According to my arrangements, he will be fully responsible for all plans related to Nanjing's officialdom, and your task is to fully assist
This Academician Huo! Among all the officials in the temple, Academician Huo’s intelligence is one of the best. If we only talk about agility, even I would be obviously weaker than him!
But although he clearly has such intelligence and agility, he has never made great achievements in the officialdom. This is because he has an obvious flaw, that is, his temperament is too soft, and he is used to hiding behind the scenes when encountering difficulties.
After that, he always tended to retreat to protect himself. As an assistant, he was undoubtedly extremely good, and he was usually able to take charge of the overall situation. However, in the face of the complicated situation in Nanjing's officialdom, he encountered Wang Baoren, the Seventh Prince, the 'Zhou Party', etc.
Against a strong enemy, he might subconsciously lack confidence and become accustomed to shrinking...
But Jiang Zheng, your character is completely different from that of Academician Huo. You don’t have the same methods as Academician Huo, and your intelligence and acumen may not be stronger, and your experience is far inferior, but you are more daring than him.
and show your edge, your determination will become firmer, so after assisting Academician Huo, you must try to strengthen Academician Huo's confidence and never let him have any hesitation or discouragement. If he shrinks, I am in Nanjing officialdom.
All kinds of arrangements will lead to defeat!"
In fact, Jiang Zheng had made it clear to Huo Zhengyuan before that he might have a conflict of opinion with him in the future, just to lay the groundwork for such a situation.
Obviously, Zhao Junchen's vision is extremely accurate, and he can even be said to be prophetic.
Just now, when Lu De said that the Crown Prince Wang Baoren and the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian had been waiting for Huo Zhengyuan to show up, Huo Zhengyuan seemed to be calm and calm, but Jiang Zheng could still detect Huo Zhengyuan's wavering at that moment.
and shrinking.
Otherwise, Huo Zhengyuan would not suddenly ask Jiang Zheng about his side's chances of winning. This is a sign of Huo Zhengyuan's wavering.
Therefore, Jiang Zheng immediately emphasized his own advantages and deliberately exaggerated his own chances of winning, just to strengthen Huo Zhengyuan's confidence.
Judging from the current situation, the effect is quite good. After hearing Jiang Zheng's remarks, Huo Zhengyuan obviously became more calm and calm.
As a recognized temple strategist, Huo Zhengyuan naturally has his own analysis, and his analysis must be more comprehensive and detailed than Jiang Zheng. However, due to his character flaws, he just needs someone to encourage him at this time.
.
After discovering this, Jiang Zheng did not have any pride, but admired Zhao Junchen's skills in recognizing and employing people, and gradually understood why Zhao Junchen could control the selfish corrupt officials and traitorous officials of the "Zhao Party".
Self-efficacy.
At the same time, the smile on Jiang Zheng's lips just flashed, and he soon returned to his usual expressionless face - he must try his best to conceal Zhao Junchen's second-level intention, otherwise if Huo Zhengyuan notices this
situation, it would become extremely embarrassing when he got along with Huo Zhengyuan, and such an embarrassing situation would inevitably affect Zhao Junchen's arrangement in Nanjing's officialdom.
From Jiang Zheng's point of view, whether he can fully conceal Zhao Junchen's second-level intentions this time is also one of the tests arranged by Zhao Junchen.
In the end, Jiang Zheng just followed Huo Zhengyuan downstairs quietly and quickly, and asked at the same time: "Master Huo, what do you think we should do next? Should we contact Cao Wenbin, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing? Or wait for Grand Master Wang and Qi
Are the princes and others in contact with us?"
Huo Zhengyuan shook his head slightly and said: "Since ancient times, when civil uprisings occur, there are always two things that are most important. One is the military force to suppress chaos, and the other is money and food to stabilize people's hearts! As long as these two things are mastered,
You can have the most say in the chaos!
Regarding the former, it should be in the hands of Grand Master Wang. As far as I know, he has His Majesty's secret decree and can mobilize all the troops near Nanjing at will. Naturally, we are unable to intervene, but the latter... What do you think of the current situation?
In the entire city of Nanjing, which force can mobilize the most money and food?"
After Jiang Zheng thought for a while, he replied: "It should not be the Nanjing Household Department, because the Nanjing Household Secretary Wang Zheng embezzled money and grain, and the Nanjing Household Department does not have much money and food..."
Then, Jiang Zheng suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but shook his head and laughed at himself, saying: "This junior is confused. He obviously mentioned it just now... In Nanjing today, the force that can mobilize the most money and food resources is actually Zhao Gechen.
The 'United Boat Company' founded by myself!"
Huo Zhengyuan chuckled and nodded in approval, and said, "That's right! So, we have to contact Qian Lai first!"
Qian Lai, whom Huo Zhengyuan was talking about, was the boss of "United Shipping Company" in Nanjing.
Therefore, Jiang Zheng praised from the bottom of his heart: "Master Huo is so smart that he can see through the key points at a glance!"
Just like Zhao Junchen said, although Huo Zhengyuan has obvious character flaws, in terms of intelligence and acumen, he is definitely an extraordinary person!
*
And just when a civil uprising finally occurred in Nanjing City, and Huo Zhengyuan, Jiang Zheng, Lu De and others also left Guanjiang Tower, news of the civil uprising finally reached Xiaoling, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian and