Wang Wenyan's status among Feng Ziying's staff is relatively special. He can be regarded as a big butler who connects private and public affairs.
Wu Yaoqing focuses on the Shuntian government office and security. Now he is very familiar with Fu Shi, Li Wenzheng, Li Jianxing and even Song Xian. Wu Yaoqing is also in contact with most of the contacts in Yangzhou. Everyone also knows that he is Feng Ziying. of capable staff.
Wang Wenyan's appearance was relatively rare, but everyone in the yamen also knew him, and Feng Ziying's personal friends, such as his classmate Fang Youdu, Wang Yingxiong, Xu Qixun and even Yang Sichang, as well as his old relatives Jia Lian and Jia Huan, Jia Baoyu, Jia Qiang, Shen Zizheng, etc. have all been in contact.
Cao Yu basically contacted Feng Ziying through a single line. Except for a limited number of people, no one knew that Feng Ziying was behind "Today's News". However, the Ministry of Rites and Long Jinwei also vaguely knew about Feng Ziying and "Today's News". There is a deep relationship, which is difficult to hide from those who are interested.
Until now, Feng Ziying has not established a complete and stable staff system. The main reason is that firstly, the positions have changed too quickly, and the corresponding affairs have also changed a lot; secondly, she has many secrets that she cannot disclose to others, even if they are The most intimate staff should also consider one or two things; thirdly, public and private affairs are mixed and difficult to distinguish clearly, so Feng Ziying has been thinking about how to sort out all this, standardize it, and make it more efficient.
Wang Wenyan, Wu Yaoqing and Cao Yu all came from Lin Ruhai's command, and their loyalty was unquestionable. There was no suspense about Daiyu marrying into the Feng family. In addition, Feng Ziying trusted several people, so there was no need to worry about this, even including Gu Dengfeng and Qian Guisheng, two people who have made relatively few appearances, are also from the Lin family.
Before, Feng Ziying had enough time to sort it out, but now Feng Ziying needs to seriously consider all this.
The situation in the DPRK has changed drastically. Wu Daonan took the initiative to give in. All the affairs of Shuntian Mansion may be burdened on him. The court may not be aware of this now, but soon with the severe drought in the north and the influx of refugees, the White Lotus Sect will definitely cause trouble. , I also have to consider the shipping affairs in Yuguan, Dagu and other places, as well as the coal and iron complex in Yongping Prefecture and even Gyeonggi Province, and the production and operation of the ordnance workshop. There is a lot of energy involved, and I will definitely not be able to cope with it. You need to divide the work well.
Feng Ziying is also considering bringing up Gu Dengfeng and Qian Guisheng to put them to good use. Before, they only arranged some more obscure tasks, but now that no one is available, they have to be pushed to the front desk.
All in all, Feng Ziying still realizes that her background is too shallow and her time in office is too short. No matter how fast she climbs, she will jump from one map to another in almost one or two years. But it is precisely this too fast-paced change of position that makes her It is difficult for me to have a deep accumulation in every position, and it is also difficult to accumulate network resources.
Taking my tenure in Yongping Mansion as an example, I hardly found or promoted any available talents. It’s not that there were none, but I didn’t have time to select, inspect and appoint them. This is also a shortcoming of this era, or I chose private individuals. Staff can form a relatively stable alliance through long-term cooperation. Without special reasons, it is unimaginable to confide easily.
Without his special relationship with Lin Daiyu, Lin Ruhai would not have been able to recommend his staff to him at will. Likewise, people like Wang Wenyan would not have been able to easily join him and do things for him loyally.
"It is certain that these people have other thoughts. They are not like Ye Fang and others. They are in high positions and have the most powerful ministers. They have nothing to ask for. They are still hoping to go further. Prince Yi Zhong made it clear that carriages and horses are good friends and trustworthy Jiangnan
Scholars will inevitably make these people feel that they have an opportunity to take advantage of..." Feng Ziying said calmly: "If he favors Jiangnan scholars, he will not be able to win the sincere support of northern scholars. The same is true for Huguang scholars. Of course, he can also use them.
These methods are used to divide and disintegrate, but people will definitely have to observe the effect..."
Wang Wenyan sighed, "In your opinion, the dispute between the North and the South must be resolved by war?"
"Prince Yi Zhong has been dormant for more than ten years. He has tasted the position of prince but has to live under others for the rest of his life. Now the emperor is unconscious, the princes are mediocre, and he has a group of people planning and supporting him, how can he endure it?" Feng Ziying?
He also sighed, "The emperor's orthodoxy has not been extinguished, and his kindness and righteousness still exist. How can the princes in the court abandon it? The moral character and honor of the scholars do not allow them to do so, so there is no way out, so we can only fight."
"But the current situation of the imperial court is not optimistic. A severe drought is imminent, refugees are in turmoil, white lotus is hiding, foreign enemies are watching, financial resources are scarce, and people are divided. If there is a little delay, the economy of the North is in danger of collapse. Even if your Excellency has some plans, but
Wen Yan thought it would be difficult to support a tree alone."
Wang Wenyan is not very optimistic about the current situation of the imperial court.
Not only Wang Wenyan, but also Wu Yaoqing and Cao Yu.
No matter how I look at it now, I feel that the imperial court is in a state of decline.
A seemingly insignificant chieftain rebellion in Bozhou actually lasted for two years with no sign of ending; the disarmament in the northwest almost caused another rebellion; the Mongolian invasion last year left the capital in a state of chaos that has not yet recovered;
There was turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River, and signs of delaying and resisting taxation gradually became apparent.
Regardless of the threat from foreign enemies, there seems to be no solution to the many internal problems. In the final analysis, the internal financial resources of the imperial court are exhausted, the army is redundant, and the officials are corrupt. It requires a deep-rooted healing within the imperial court.
, but how to move it and who will move it?
Now we are encountering such a twists and turns. Prince Yi Zhong may not have great talents and strategic skills, but he caught up with this situation and embraced the prosperous land of Jiangnan, but he could throw away all the burdens and baggage to the court and go into battle lightly.
, to put it bluntly, if it drags on for a year, the imperial court itself will collapse, and hundreds of thousands of border troops will counterattack and become a mess that no one can control.
In this situation, no matter how you look at it, it seems that the imperial court has more wins than losses.
It was difficult for Feng Ziying to overturn Wang Wenyan's judgment for a while.
Although Feng Ziying is trying his best to promote the shipping route from Guangzhou to Yuguan and Dagu, this is after all on the same level as the capacity of water transportation, and the traditional custom is to transport grain from the south to the north via the Yangtze River and canals. Of course, Guangdong and Guangxi also produce
Grain, but the quantity shipped from the north is not large, and more are some local specialties, such as sugar frosting, medicinal materials, southern goods, etc.
Nowadays, goods such as iron materials, ironware and cement from Yongping Prefecture have begun to be shipped south on a large scale. However, if the return journey is empty, it will naturally not be cost-effective. It also forces shipowners to consider how to transport as much as possible.
Of the goods needed to enter the North, the largest item is naturally grain. However, the cost of shipping grain from Guangdong and Guangxi is definitely higher than that of shipping via the Yangtze River and canals. Therefore, the goods currently shipped from Guangdong and Guangxi are still in the form of sugar frosting, medicinal materials, copper materials, etc.
Mostly precious wood.
However, after receiving Feng Ziying's instruction, Xue Biao began to take the initiative to transport grain from Songjiang to Yuguan and Dagu for storage. Of course, this behavior that does not consider profit and loss for the time being cannot last forever, but Feng Ziying believes that as the North-South confrontation begins
, Northland grain prices will definitely usher in a period of skyrocketing. At that time, whether it is transporting grain from Songjiang or Guangdong and Guangxi to Yuguan, Dagu will become profitable, which will definitely stimulate a sharp increase in the business of shipping grain.
In addition to the possible food shortage, once the imperial court is cut off from taxes and duties by Jiangnan, it will also be an unbearable blow. Seventy percent of the imperial court's wealth comes from Jiangnan. Once cut off, there will be problems with official salaries, royal needs, and frontier army food and wages.
This is also crucial in its impact on public sentiment.
Fortunately, there is an ever-expanding Haitong Bank, but it can borrow money. If it becomes a fat pig used to withdraw money, collapse will be inevitable.
"Wen Yan, I think many people are weighing this issue now. This should also be the main reason for the fluctuation of people's hearts. And as the situation becomes clearer, it is estimated that the entire imperial court, Gyeonggi and even the north will usher in a more violent period of turmoil.
"Feng Ziying pondered and said: "But I look at it this way. There is no doubt about the orthodoxy of the imperial court, which is particularly important for the people's hearts. Well, at least in the short term, the people's hearts will not be greatly affected for the time being. Of course, in the absence of
When people have less food and clothing, there will definitely be a reversal in public sentiment, which depends on the court coming up with practical countermeasures, and this is one of them."
"The second is the prediction and expectation for the future. The disparity in military power between the north and the south should be well known to the scholars in the north and south, but ordinary people may not be able to understand it, so how can we quickly reflect this and let the people
Knowing, then consolidating confidence and winning public opinion is the key."
Feng Ziying's words made Wang Wenyan understand, "Your Excellency, do you mean to win a few battles quickly to prove this point?"
"Yes, we must win, and we must advertise it widely and let the general public know." Feng Ziying nodded, "Should we say that the capital is short of food? There is indeed a shortage, but it is not necessarily how severe the shortage is. These grain merchants are even more sensitive than the imperial court.
They are more sensitive. I am afraid they have already started buying and hoarding food. The more food they are short of and the less optimistic they are about the situation, the more they will store food and be reluctant to sell it to make huge profits. So when they all feel that victory is in sight, they will understand
If you continue to store grain and be reluctant to sell it, you will suffer losses, and then you will open warehouses to sell grain, and then the food shortage may not be that serious."
Feng Ziying continued: "Besides, Jiangnan is not monolithic. Merchants value profits. As long as sea transportation continues, Songjiang, Ningbo, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, where can't grain be transported? Henan and Huguang are close to each other, and the cost of transporting grain by land is higher. As long as
The profits are endless. There is also Huaiyang Town. Is Chen Jixian so optimistic about Prince Yi Zhong? After two battles, maybe he will think about it. Will the northern section of the canal still be resolutely blocked? "
