Chapter 2281 Gui Zi Scroll, Cartilage, Imperial Party
The two of them walked slowly without speaking.
Qi Yongtai also realized that the growth rate of his disciple was so amazing, from Xiao Feng Xiuzhuan of Hanlin Academy, to Tongzhi of Yongping Mansion, to Shuntianfu Cheng, and then to the right minister of Duchayuan, the censor of the capital, and the right minister of the Ministry of War.
He served as a minister and governor of Shaanxi, and finally became the right minister of the Ministry of War. In just a few years, he completed the magnificent transformation from a young scholar who had just entered the official career to a third-rank official.
From the beginning, he could only put forward opinions on some specific matters, but now he can put forward detailed and specific systematic planning suggestions on matters in a certain field. For example, now that he is the Minister of War, he can come up with a complete set of plans according to changes in the war situation.
Suggestions and opinions are all supported by evidence and are not aimless.
It's no wonder that Ye Fang, Li and the other two are all envious of having such a disciple, and they only say that there is someone who will succeed him.
Like the negotiations between the imperial court and Nanjing, Qi Yongtai actually didn't want to tell Feng Ziying because there were too many intrigues and secrets involved.
The emperor's intentions, the purpose of Prince Yi Zhong, the interests of the Zhang family, the rights and interests of the scholar group, the subtle relationship between the Jiangnan scholars and the northern scholars, coupled with the suppression and prevention of the warriors by the scholars, and internal worries
The interactive relationship formed by foreign aggression made this negotiation full of uncertainty.
Qi Yongtai was worried that letting Feng Ziying be involved would only make Feng Ziying tainted by these dirty things at a young age, which would be detrimental to Feng Ziying's growth.
But now it seems that he still underestimated Feng Ziying. Feng Ziying's growth rate has greatly exceeded expectations. Perhaps this has something to do with his family background. The other party has been able to deal with everything that represents the dark side very calmly and even with ease.
Since this is the case, Qi Yongtai can put aside his original worries and even discuss these topics with Feng Ziying.
"Ziying, I'm afraid the current situation in the imperial court is worse than what the outside world has seen and what you imagined. The money raised from Haitong Bank through various methods has basically been exhausted, and one year's official salary is owed in advance.
It must be reissued, the reconstruction of the three towns of Shanxi, Datong and Xuanfu, the counterinsurgency in Shanxi, the counterinsurgency in Shandong, the war in South Zhili, the Northern Front Army is now crossing eastward to Liaodong, the counterinsurgency in Huguang, etc.
They all need silver, but the taxes in the south of the Yangtze River cannot be raised, and the tax reductions and exemptions in the north are also forced. When you go in and out like this, eight million taels of silver sounds like a huge amount, but once you spend it, you find that it is not enough at all, and this
We are also facing the invasion of Chahar and Jianzhou Jurchens, and we have to spend money. Where will the money come from?"
Qi Yongtai sighed, "A penny can't help a hero. The court is now heavily in debt. If we win this battle, the court will have to find a way to pay off the debt. If we lose, I don't know what the final result will be.
Maybe many people will have no choice but to retire and live in poverty for the rest of their lives."
"So the imperial court wanted to capture Jiangnan as soon as possible, pacify Shanxi, and solve Sichuan and Huguang. However, in the face of Nanjing's sky-high asking prices, the imperial court had to persist. This became a vicious cycle. It depends on who can withstand the torture.
If there were any slight changes, it would probably be a disaster for everyone."
Feng Ziying suggested: "So Jiangnan will not move for the time being, but Shanxi, Liaodong and even Sichuan must hurry up and strive to resolve it as soon as possible, so that Nanjing will not dare to delay it any longer."
Qi Yongtai slightly nodded his head, but it is easier said than done. It would be good if the situation in Liaodong can maintain the status quo. Yuan Keli just went to Shanxi. How can it be solved in less than half a year?
There was also the Sichuan side, which dissatisfied the court the most. The cost was huge, far exceeding the court's original prediction, and even doubled several times.
Preliminary calculations show that the food consumption for the Bozhou Rebellion in recent years, plus the subsequent addition of the Anshe family, has exceeded six million taels of silver. The original cost for the Southwest War was two million taels.
Silver, this has more than doubled.
When Xiong Tingbi went there, everyone had high hopes. As a result, more than a year later, Feng Ziying had settled the chaos in Shaanxi. Xiong Tingbi was still fighting with several chieftains in Sichuan. This was after Wang Ziteng had voluntarily left Huguang.
Now that Yang Yinglong is about to be executed, and the two Anshe families are at the end of their rope, it is estimated that the Southwest Chieftain Rebellion will come to an end within half a year.
Feng Ziying's purge of Shaanxi only cost the court 300,000 taels of silver in name, but in fact it was far more.
It was not just the merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi who supported hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. The key was that Feng Ziying adopted the method of supporting war with war. He used the rebel army as the king's vanguard, massacred and exterminated the powerful local gentry, confiscated their homes and exterminated their clans.
Come and extract oil to feed your family.
Feng Ziying also calculated that he had squeezed more than three million taels of money and goods from these powerful and evil gentry alone. Without such a huge income, he could not afford to support these rebel troops and then turned them into guards.
It is also impossible to provide relief to the victims so that they will not continue to become refugees and rioters. How could the civil turmoil in Shaanxi be quelled so easily?
Now that Yuan Keli has gone to Shanxi, the situation is not that simple.
The scholars from Shanxi were the mainstream of the civil servants in the north. Qiao Yingjia, Han Xu, and the two brothers Sun Juxiang and Sun Dingxiang were the leaders and backbone of the scholars in the north. They were closely related to the local scholars in Shanxi. If Yuan Keli wanted to
In this way, three or five people can suppress it, and the court can tolerate it. If they slaughter and clean up all the way like they did in Shaanxi, and rely on this method to raise food and wages, it will definitely attract countless criticisms, and Yuan Keli can't bear it.
In addition, there are Fengzhou Bailian and Tumut people here in northern Shanxi. The scholars still support the imperial court's resistance. You can't just swing your sword at them, right?
What's more, Yuan Keli may not have the courage to raise Kou Zonghu. These literati cherish their own feathers, how can they be as unscrupulous and unscrupulous as himself?
Therefore, Shanxi can definitely win this battle, but this will depend on the strong support of the imperial court.
When Feng Ziying knew that Yuan Keli was going to Shanxi, the Ministry of Household Affairs first gave him one million taels of silver as a backstop, and would continue to provide full support in the future. This was very different from his own trip to Shaanxi.
But Feng Ziying is not jealous either. This is actually a kind of recognition of her own abilities.
"The cabinet and the Ministry of War had already sent a letter to Xiong Tingbi before you came back, asking him to resolve the Sichuan war before the end of the year. He wrote back and said that he would strive to resolve it before the end of February next year, and the court agreed." Qi Yongtai took a long time to say something.
: "The consumption of the Sichuan War greatly exceeded the court's expectations and disrupted the court's plans, which is why it was so passive and embarrassing. Xiong Tingbi's performance was unsatisfactory and disappointing."
"Qi Shi is pretty good. Brother Zhisheng should not have been allowed to come in the first place. He is already familiar with the situation. Ten birds in the forest are worse than one in the hand. If Brother Zhisheng was allowed to directly take over the entire Sichuan and Huguang military affairs, I dare say
The Southwest War ended in the first half of this year. Brother Feibai had to get familiar with and adapt to it again. He couldn't do it for half a year. Then Yang Yinglong, An Bangyan and She Chongming got a chance to breathe, which would inevitably delay the war. Brother Feibai still managed to win the war.
Yes, the court cannot be too demanding."
Qi Yongtai was slightly surprised by Feng Ziying's words, and after thinking for a while he explained: "There is a reason for letting Zhisheng come back. Yang He did not play well, and letting Zhisheng take over will make the Huguang scholars feel sad.
, Feibai has gone, they are all from Huguang, so Dongxian (Guan Yingzhen) and Zishu (Chai Ke) have no objections."
Feng Ziying suddenly realized that there was another whole story here.
The North Korean scholars and the Huguang scholars have formed an alliance and have a harmonious relationship. The Qi army must take this into consideration. If this causes a rift between the Northern scholars and the Huguang scholars, and in vain allows the Jiangnan scholars to benefit, it will be counterproductive.
Not beautiful anymore.
"Then Mr. Zhang (Li Tingji) has already entered the official position, but the official is going to join the cabinet?" Feng Ziying asked.
Qi Yongtai hesitated for a moment and shook his head slowly: "This is also a key issue that the imperial court is negotiating with Prince Yi Zhong. Nanjing proposed that one of their people should join the cabinet, which means that they have identified the vacancy left by Zhang Zhishi.
, but the cabinet is unwilling to accept this condition. I hope Dongxian will join the cabinet, but Ye Fang and Ye Fang are not very supportive."
"Oh? Ye Fang also has a candidate? Who? Cun Zhi Gong (Gao Panlong)? Ming Qi Gong (Huang Ruliang)? They are not qualified enough to convince the public. It can't be Ji Hui Gong (Liu Yishui), right?
That's too ridiculous, and you will never agree." Feng Ziying was surprised.
If Ye Fang and two other ministers recommend another Jiangnan scholar to the cabinet, they will have a crushing advantage over the northern scholars. Among the five cabinet ministers, Ye Fang and Ye Fang are originally the first and second assistants. Although Li Sancai's native place is
There are scholars from the North, but their attitude has always been in favor of Jiangnan. If there were another scholar from the South of the Yangtze River, there would be three and a half Qi Yongtai and one scholar from the North.
"You think Ye Fang and two are too simple. Of course they know that I will not agree to tell you about those people, so they are also very conflicted." Qi Yongtai stroked his beard and pondered, "Well, there is another thing, Liuji
(Gu Bingqian) came to me and asked me to support him in joining the cabinet. I was a little surprised. Liu Ji came to me and asked me to recommend him..."
Gu Bingqian? This recognized weakling in the history of his previous life? The guy who attached himself to Wei Zhongxian?
Gu Bingqian's qualifications are not a problem. He has served as the Minister of Rites for many years. Moreover, he was the Minister of Rites during the reign of Emperor Yuanxi, so he has deep qualifications.
But this person has a problem, that is, he was born in the south of the Yangtze River, from Kunshan, Suzhou. Logically speaking, he was a scholar from the south of the Yangtze River. If he became the Minister of Rites, he should be the leader of the scholars from the south of the Yangtze River. But he is not, and he is not.
He was favored by the Jiangnan scholars because he was so trusted by Emperor Yonglong, and he was an imperialist through and through.
Among the Jiangnan scholars, the two most disliked by this group were Gu Bingqian and Zhang Jingqiu. Both were from South Zhili and both were imperialists.
