The sky was covered with lead clouds and heavy snow fell.
In the newly built Daming Palace, the court officials were in a hurry and were at a loss what to do.
During the court meeting a few days ago, the emperor was still able to walk and seemed to be in good condition. But recently, he could only rest and rest, with no one to support him and could not get off the ground at all.
Of course this is not the most serious.
According to reliable information, the emperor suddenly collapsed while sitting on the bed today. Although it was later confirmed that it was a false alarm and the emperor was not in trouble, the deterioration of his body was obvious.
From being able to walk, to needing someone to help him walk, to having difficulty even sitting on the bed. Nowadays, the saint is basically hanging on to his last breath, relying entirely on the dedicated efforts of the imperial doctors to keep him alive.
Ximen Sigong had just passed away a few months ago, and Ximen Zhongsui took full power. Now the court officials are not allowed to see the saint. This is the legendary "isolation between China and foreign countries."
There is no way, who will let others control the military power? Since this year, the Shence Army has sent generals to Hebei, Henan, Hedong, and Hetao to recruit 30,000 soldiers, together with 30,000 old Shu soldiers, and now the total strength has returned to just over 60,000
.
The people of Chang'an City really have no chance to join the military pay.
At that time, Yang Fugong and Ximen Sigong were at odds with each other, but they were surprisingly unanimous on this matter. The citizens of the capital could not bear to fight, and they mixed up the military pay. They were good at getting rewards, and their relationship was complicated. They were slippery, and they were the worst source of soldiers.
Previously, we went to Guandong to recruit 20,000 soldiers. After training, they were all taken to Shu by Wei Zhaodu. Their performance was much better than that of the old Shence Army. This time, we recruited 30,000 soldiers and reorganized them to form the core of the new Shence Army.
The other 30,000 veterans recruited by Tian Lingzi in Shu were slowly sent out. When the Jiedu envoys, observation envoys and military supervisors of big towns went to take office, they would take a few hundred to two thousand at a time, and they were slowly used up.
Zhang Jun wandered around the Daming Palace for a while. Seeing that he had no chance to see the saint, he quietly left and returned home.
"Sir." Jingzhao Yin and Sun Kui have been waiting in the mansion for a long time.
"Shijun Sun, is there any news from the feudal residence?" Zhang Jun asked softly after dismissing the servants.
The vassal residence he was referring to was the residence of King Shou. It was usually managed by the Northern Division, and the Zhongguan had envoys for the princes' residences. While taking care of their daily lives, they also had the responsibility of monitoring.
Therefore, Zhang Jun could not see the kings directly, and neither could Sun Kui.
But Sun Kui was the Yin of Jingzhao and was in charge of more than 20 counties in Jingzhao Prefecture. He had considerable power. If he wanted to contact the kings indirectly, there was still a way.
"King Shou deeply hated eunuchs, but he hid it very well. He only hated Tian Lingzi in his words, but praised Ximen a lot." Sun Kui said: "King Shou asked me to tell you, 'You have strategies and can make big plans.
, if you can... you should obey your advice.'"
Sun Kui was very vague, but Zhang Jun already understood.
The officials of the Nanya Dynasty all belong to King Ji, because King Ji is "long and virtuous". To be fair, Zhang Jun also feels that King Shou is not as good as King Ji, just for one thing, he is impatient, impulsive, irritable, and scared to death after an accident.
Taking responsibility is not the sign of a human king.
The court officials also planned to make an effort to help their favorite Prince Ji to be the new king, but Zhang Jun felt very pessimistic about this.
It was obvious that the eunuch of Beisi would not let King Ji go up. The saint's younger brother, King Shou, was young and apparently close to the eunuch, so he was an excellent candidate for Beisi.
Others either have a slightly distant bloodline, are older and have their own opinions, or don't like eunuchs. In short, they are not suitable.
Zhang Jun placed his treasure on King Shou. Just by being the younger brother of the saint's mother, he already had a lot of advantages.
It is also generally believed that Jingzhao Yin Sun Kui had a close relationship with him, and he contacted King Shou privately and obtained his promise.
"Shijun Sun, the middle officials are domineering, and the only one we rely on is God's military strategy. We also need to master the force, otherwise, once chaos breaks out in the capital, we will have little power to fight back." Zhang Jun suddenly said again.
"Commander, you also know that Jingzhao Mansion is the territory of the Shence Army. How to organize and train the new army?" Sun Kui said with a bitter smile.
Before Yang Fugong was overthrown, he appointed his fake son Yang Shouliang as the envoy of the capital system and the defense envoy of the gold and merchant capital.
Before Jin Shang established the town, the imperial envoys could manage Jingzhao Prefecture, Tongzhou, Huazhou, and Shangzhou, a prefecture of three states and forty counties, with more than 3 million people. Before Zhu Wen became successful, theoretically, It is said to be the most powerful "local government" in the country, but unfortunately, this is a centrally administered territory.
After pacifying Huang Chao, Li Xiang was rewarded for his merits and served as the defense envoy of the Jin and Shang capital. The imperial court took Shangzhou from Gyeonggi Province and Jinzhou from the Shannanxi Province under its control, giving Li Xiang a small territory.
Today, the Gyeonggi envoy system is controlled by Ximen himself, who appointed his fake son Ximen Xun to hold this position.
Ximen Xun, whose real surname was Song, was also the younger brother of Wentong of Song Dynasty. Both brothers attached themselves to the powerful official Ximen Zhongsui and were awarded high officials.
But Ximen Xun could only manage Jingzhao Mansion. In Tongzhou and Huazhou, there were Wang Bian and Hao Zhenwei. These two were both military leaders in the North. After taking office with their own soldiers and generals, they were in Tongzhou and Huazhou. These two densely populated places in the state recruited troops and horses to gain their own power.
Of course, what they do is different from that of other vassal towns. They are more respectful, and they pay a lot of money and food. They only use the remaining part to train thousands of state soldiers, with veterans from Fengzhou or Zhenwu Army serving as the backbone. , the combat effectiveness is pretty good.
The Tongzhou soldiers and the Huazhou soldiers were of course scared like quails when they encountered the Shuofang army on the expedition, but those losers of the Shence army may not be able to defeat them. Especially the 20,000 people who can fight have gone to Shuzhong, and the new soldiers Before the training is completed, if you send 10,000 to 20,000 people over, it's hard to say whether you will win or lose.
These two people, how should I put it, although they were local emperors in the same state and Huazhou, they were still loyal to the imperial court. Zhang Jun felt that he could win over them to counter the influence of the Shence Army.
In particular, Hao Zhenwei and Zhang Jun had contact with him once. He was very ambitious and vaguely revealed that he wanted to serve as the military envoy of Tonghua and annex Huazhou.
The Tonghua Jiedushi, also known as the Zhenguojun Jiedushi, appeared after the Anshi Rebellion and was repeatedly established and abolished. The most recent person to hold this post was Zhu Quanzhong.
After Zhu Quanzhong went to Xuanwu, the imperial court deposed Tonghua Town, and the two prefectures were returned to the capital and placed under the direct leadership of envoys.
If Hao Zhenwei wants to get this position, he will definitely have to fight with Wang Bian, otherwise there will be trouble. Zhang Jun is also hesitant, fearing that he will destroy the central half of Guanzhong, so he has been vague. However, if the political dispute reaches a critical moment, , you can’t care about that much anymore, your wealth and life are gone, why do you still care about the life and death of the people in Guanzhong?
"It is a bit troublesome to organize and train the new army." Zhang Jun said: "If you don't organize and train, you will always be controlled by others. At the same time, the governors of the two states of Hua can contact each other more. In addition, the gold merchant Li Xiang donates wood every year to help the court repair the palace. , I am more respectful, and you can also interact with him. By the way, Dr. Jingyuan Cheng, I have been ill for a long time, can Sun Erlang have a suitable candidate?"
Sun Kui's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.
Of course he is loyal to the court, but if he can become the governor of Jingyuan, he will definitely be better than a Jingzhao Yin who is controlled by all parties. When asked by Prime Minister Zhang, could it be...
Sun Kui was a little unsure and said calmly: "Sir, Master Cheng of Jingyuan is loyal to the country..."
"Erlang, what can't be said in front of someone?" Zhang Jun said with a smile: "The towns in the northwest of Beijing, Fengxiang, Xingning, Baosai, and Baoda, were all ordered by Xiazhou. Now Hexi Town is also his. He went so far as to go to the imperial court and ask to be appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Hexi Province. He is a rebellious official and a traitor! The three states of Jingyuan will never be gained by him again. If Erlang is diligent in the king's affairs, he may not be unable to serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the Jingyuan Province."
For some reason, Sun Kui's heart suddenly became cold. He suddenly no longer wanted the throne of Jingyuan Jiedushi.
"Teacher, I don't know whether to say something or not." Sun Kui muttered.
Zhang Jun frowned and said, "But it doesn't hurt to talk."
"This year Shao Shude, the king of Lingwu County, presented 300 carts of salt, 2,000 horses, 3,000 skins, and 40,000 sheep. There were occasional small mistakes, but it was also done to remove powerful officials, and there was no loss in the big deal. Northwest of Beijing Most of the orders in the towns are in his hands. The army can reach Chang'an in a short time, so why bother to anger these people?" Sun Kui advised: "Jingyuan Town, I think he must have wanted to take it. If a fight breaks out, the army will attack again. Que, you must not look good on your face."
"You're confused, Erlang!" Zhang Jun scolded: "I've been through Guanzhong, but now I'm in Jingyuan, and the two towns of Jin and Shang are not in the hands of Shao's thieves. If we let him seize it, and then seize the two states of Tong and Hua, we will all become turtles in the urn. That’s it.”
Sun Kui thought so too.
He is not someone who is afraid of death. What he is afraid of is that Shuofang's army will march south to Guanzhong again and turn Chang'an upside down. Where is the majesty of the imperial court in that case?
But if Ren Shao Shude surrounded Jingzhao Mansion, he would indeed be a turtle in a urn, and there would be no place to run if he wanted to.
"It doesn't necessarily mean that we have to confront Shao Shude." Seeing that Sun Kui remained silent, Zhang Jun softened his tone and said, "Xia Bing is too close to Chang'an. If this person has rebellious intentions, the court will not be able to react. Jingyuan It’s not that we can’t give it to him, but he has to work hard.”
Sun Kui was a little surprised and asked: "What's the effort?"
"The time has not come yet, so it's hard to say." Zhang Jun said vaguely: "In a few days, a certain meeting will send an envoy to Xiazhou to have a secret talk with Shao Shude."
To the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, the most terrifying thing about Shuofang Town was not its strength, but its location.
Even if it only has 20,000 to 30,000 troops, it can be forced to the gates of Chang'an City in a short time. This is the most embarrassing situation.
If the imperial court wants to deal with Shuofang Town, it is estimated that the Xia soldiers will attack the city before they can mobilize. By then, let alone the ministers, the emperor will not be able to protect himself, so why bother?
Therefore, the imperial court could deal with any of the vassal towns such as Hedong, Xuanwu, and Hetong, but it was absolutely impossible to deal with Shuofang.
Zhang Jun is not stupid, he knows that Jingyuan Town is very important to the imperial court. If possible, it still has to be in the hands of his own people. But if there is really no way, it is not impossible to trade it in exchange for other benefits.
Shao Shude worships Shao Shude year after year, and his ambition is very great, but there is no backlash, so don’t mess with this big Buddha for the time being.
But there was a person who had a very venomous mouth and once ridiculed himself. This tone was really hard to swallow.
