Chapter 282: Inside and Outside the Palace (Seventeen) Clues
After dinner, Gao pragmatically went to Xiyuan to enjoy the snow, and Huang Zhiting came as expected. The two stood in the pavilion looking at the ice of Shichahai. For a long time, no one broke the silence.
But in the end, Huang Zhiting, who had something on his mind, was the first to speak: "Master, Yuan'er is only thirteen years old, you don't really intend to let him completely preside over the war against Arakan, do you? What if something goes wrong, no matter whether it is against
The situation in southern Xinjiang is not a good thing, nor is it good for his future prestige."
"I remember that you took over the government affairs of Siming Mansion very early when you were a child." Gao Pragmatic smiled and said calmly: "Now you are worried about whether he can handle the Arakan War well. I can understand this feeling.
But how long are you going to worry about him?
His identity is naturally quite special, but because of this, you can either think that he must perform very well in order to convince the hundreds of thousands of proud soldiers in southern Xinjiang, or you can also think that... no matter how he behaves,
The final result won’t be too bad.”
"Why is this?" Huang Zhiting frowned and said, "I mean, why isn't it too bad?"
"Because no matter which garrison troops are deployed to accompany him on the expedition, these people will definitely try their best to show what they can do." Gao Pragmatic's face was as calm as the ice of Shichahai: "Everyone wants to show their ability and ability in front of the eldest young master.
Loyalty, how can we not be dedicated, how can we not work hard?
What's more, I sent Yuan'er to take charge of the Arakan war. Who among the people below can't see the meaning of this? Therefore, fighting this battle well is not only to leave a good impression on Yuan'er, but also to show me their
of loyalty and bravery.”
"These concubines also understand, but they are afraid that if Yuan'er gains such great power for the first time, if she becomes arrogant and does not listen to the advice of her subordinates, she will do whatever she wants..."
"That means we have completely failed in educating him over the years." Gao Pragmatic shook his head and said, "I still say the same thing, how long are you going to worry about him? Now all the conditions are very mature. If
If he can't take advantage of this situation, it's useless for you to worry. Even if you go to deal with it in person this time, what about the next time? What about the next time? What happens after you and I die one day?"
Huang Zhiting remained silent. Gao Pragmatic waved his hand and said: "Let him do it himself. I have thought about the situation in Arakan carefully. Even if we follow the worst plan - such as the annihilation of his entire security force, things will be far from over.
It cannot reach the point of shaking the rule of southern Xinjiang."
"If the situation is really bad like this, aren't you worried about Yuan'er's safety?" Huang Zhiting asked.
"Arakan is talking about the kingdom, don't you know its strength? Philip has less than 300 Portuguese under his command, and the servant army is only more than 3,000. Even if he has 4,000...the Bago garrison has two towns.
With nearly 25,000 troops and a Nanyang Fleet at sea to support them, I really can’t figure out how to defeat this battle.
Zhiting, let me just say this, even if Yuan'er didn't say anything on the front line and left everything to the generals under his command, the Bago garrison in two towns would be enough to sweep across the entire Arakan - not only Philip
, can also include the king.
To take it to the extreme, even if the Mughal Governor of Bengal realized that the situation was not right and decided to send troops to Chittagong on his own initiative, the battle might not be impossible. At least, with the help of the Nanyang Fleet, defending an estuary port like Chittagong would still have a good chance of winning.
Yes, after all, the main force of the Mughal Empire should be its cavalry. Infantry warfare and water warfare are not its strengths."
Huang Zhiting asked: "Do you think the Mughal Empire will send troops?"
"I don't know." Gao Pragmatic shook his head and said, "I'm not a god. I don't even know who the Governor of Bengal in the Mughal Empire was. How can I tell whether he will send troops?
I can only say that this battle is a test. The difficulty of the test may not be high or low, but no matter how difficult it is, Yuan'er needs to face it on his own. What you and I can do, what we should do,
It’s just marking the papers, that’s all.”
Seeing Gao Pragmatic's insistence, Huang Zhiting could only acquiesce. After a while, he asked: "When will I return to southern Xinjiang?"
She could say this, obviously she still hopes to go there as soon as possible, in case Gao Yuan needs her help in coordinating the rear. Of course Gao Yuan knows, but he can also understand her mood. Maybe she will wait until Gao Yuan wins a few battles.
, it will be better after showing some leadership skills.
"Three months." Gao pragmatically said: "Three months after Yuan'er set off, you returned to southern Xinjiang to prepare for the next changes... I always feel that the Mughal Empire will not be completely unresponsive, but this reaction takes time.
.”
"Didn't the master just say that it's impossible to predict?" Huang Zhiting asked.
"This is not a prediction, it is just an inference based on common sense." Gao Pragmatic replied: "The Mughal Empire is now considered a prosperous age, when the central authority is at its peak. Therefore, generally speaking, the Governor of Bengal should not dare to act on his own without waiting for the emperor's reply, but
At this time, after the emperor of the Mughal Empire heard about the great changes in the political situation in Arakan, it stands to reason that he should confidently choose to send troops... Their desire for expansion is still very strong now."
"Three months..." Huang Zhiting thought for a while and felt that a three-month time window should be fine, so he agreed.
At this time, a maid suddenly came to report that a noble person from the palace was visiting and asked if the master wanted to see him.
Gao pragmatic knew that this should be Chen Ju, and Liu Ping was here, so he naturally wanted to see him, so the maid went to inform the visitor that the master would arrive after taking a bath and changing clothes.
Not long after, Gao Pingshi appeared in the study room in the front yard. As expected, Chen Ju and Liu Ping were in the room. Both of them were wearing black cloaks, and two equally black bamboo hats were placed aside. It can be seen that the two of them were more or less friendly here.
Did some covering up.
"I've met the Marquis." Seeing Gao Pingshi enter the room, the two people quickly stood up to greet him.
"You two laborers came to my house on a snowy night. I feel very ashamed... Please take a seat."
After a brief exchange of greetings, the three people from both parties took their seats respectively. Gao Pragmatic first said to Chen Ju: "Brother Linggang, is there no problem with the security measures of Kunning Palace?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "There is no problem at the moment." Chen Ju explained: "Since the Queen Mother gave birth to the emperor's legitimate son, our family immediately mobilized some pure troops to guard Kunning Palace.
Afterwards, I reported it to the emperor, who also approved it. Currently, Kunning Palace has arranged for a night vigil of more than 130 people, and the defense is tight. "
Ah, there are more than 130 people guarding the huge Kunning Palace. How can this be called tight defense? Gao Pinggong said sincerely: According to your standards, my Nanning Marquis Mansion can only be described as a dragon's pond and a tiger's den.
.
One thing that must be said here is that the Ming Dynasty's palace regulations strictly prohibited the use of firearms, including the palace guards.
Firearms were often prone to various accidents due to poor quality in the early years, including many fire accidents. Among the imperial concubines were nobles, emperors, empresses, queen mothers, princesses, and possibly underage princes. You
This group of rough guys are wandering around with firearms. If there is a fire, even if one of them is injured, it will be serious. Besides, no one can predict luck, but if one of them is killed, no one can afford it.
Not to mention firearms, in the palace, even powerful crossbows cannot be carried freely, so generally speaking, cold weapons are used, there are very few even long spears, and the main weapon is Xiuchundao.
The military equipment is already very stretched. Considering that the entire Kunning Palace covers an area of nearly 700,000 square meters, which is almost the size of 1,000 acres of land, the defense of these 130 people is really peppery.
Gao Pragmatic shook his head repeatedly and said: "This troop strength is too small. If someone with ulterior motives really wants to make some conspiracy, I think there may be a lot of loopholes. The defense force must be greatly strengthened tomorrow."
Chen Ju was quite surprised and said: "Isn't this enough? The defense of Qianqing Palace is nothing more than this."
Gao Pingshi was speechless and thought to himself: No wonder the Wang Minister incident happened in ancient history. It seems that the Ming Dynasty has been at peace for too long, and even the palace ban has been extended to such an extent.
This minister Wang, "The Record of Shenzong" records this: "...the minister (wang), a servant in central Zhejiang, entered the capital under the false pretense of being a wanderer, had an intimate relationship with a young man, stole his hat, and entered the forbidden gate.
Feng Bao hated the former great scholar Gao Gong, so Ayi wanted to temper him. He put his double-edged sword between the minister's armpits, and the clouds were stabbed by Gong's fingers, which was not a good idea. He couldn't defeat Chu by plundering him, so he falsely accused him of Yan Gong.
His appearance, his residence in the city walls, and the factory guards sending soldiers to examine them were all out of time. A big prison was about to start, and Zhang Juzheng was forced by the public discussion, so he adjusted it, and the prison ended without ending."
I won’t discuss the incident itself here (the actual records are not detailed, and there are multiple more detailed versions elsewhere). Let’s just say that this person just stole the “card, hat” of a young eunuch he knew, and was able to easily sneak into the palace.
, which is enough to illustrate the lax defense of the palace.
If this guy hadn't entered the palace for the first time, he had never seen the world before, and his expression was too panicked after entering, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been discovered. This shows that the palace guard is too stretched, and is more pragmatic than the Nanning Marquis Mansion.
It's much worse - the guards at the Nanning Marquis Mansion have two shifts, light and dark, and are as strict as a military commander's tent.
But Gao Pangshi also knew that although Chen Ju was loyal to the emperor, he had never seriously entered the field camp, and his understanding of defense was definitely not in place. Perhaps in his opinion, the defenses of Kunning Palace were now strengthened to those of Qianqing Palace.
At the same level, there must be more than enough.
Gao Jingshi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had to call Gao Mo in, and then asked Gao Mo to find the head servant in the mansion who was on duty tonight and ask him to explain what real defense was like.
The head of the household was told by Gao Mo not to give a detailed explanation based on the actual situation of the Nanning Hou Mansion, but instead explained it based on the defense of the commander's tent in the army - this person was also a soldier who accompanied Gao Pragmatic on many expeditions.
Of course I know the situation in the military.
As expected, Chen Ju and Liu Ping were stunned for a moment, and then they realized how tightly the military headquarters was guarded. Not only were they divided into three shifts a night to ensure that no one in each group would get sleepy, but there were also two groups, light and dark.
part.
The specific requirements are even more exaggerated. It is necessary to ensure that each guard has two other people (one in the light and one in the dark) who can see him, so that it is not difficult to detect a guard immediately after being assassinated, and someone can sneak into it.
.
Chen Ju and Liu Ping had gained some experience and were dumbfounded for a while. When they compared the arrangements of Kunning Palace, they found that they were almost as prepared as they were unprepared.
How should I put it... They completely believed that if Gao Jingshi arranged for someone to sneak into Kunning Palace and kill the emperor's legitimate son, they would probably prepare for the funeral of the emperor's legitimate son early tomorrow morning.
At first, Chen Ju felt that Liu Ping was making a fuss by asking him to come to see Gao Jingshi Zhishi tonight. Couldn't he just arrange more defense? What could be wrong? But now after hearing a real professional explain how defense work should be done,
I was so frightened that I even broke out in a cold sweat.
Chen Ju quickly asked Gao Jingshi to lend him the head servant as a high counselor for a period of time. Although this person would definitely not be able to enter the palace, he could still make a perfect defense arrangement for him based on his description of Kunning Palace.
Gao Pragmatic naturally didn't mind. He had many such talents under his command, so he turned around and ordered: "Seventeen, you should go to Mr. Chen during this period and listen to Mr. Chen's instructions."
"Seventeen" bowed to accept the order, and then stood behind Chen Ju, as if he had no trouble with the arrangement.
Chen Ju was polite and exchanged a few words with him. Then Xu Cai raised his hand to Gao Pingshi and said, "Thanks to the care of the Marquis, and with the guidance of Shi Qi, I believe the defense of Kunning Palace will be flawless. The empress, the emperor's legitimate son,
Your Highness’s safety will be guaranteed.”
Gao pragmatic smiled and replied, "This is also the responsibility of the ministers." Then he changed the subject and asked, "Is there anything unusual in Yikun Palace and the Royal Horse Supervisor today?"
Yikun Palace was the residence of Emperor Zheng's noble concubine, and the Royal Horse Prison did not need to be explained, but it was the place where Li Wenjin worked as the chief eunuch of the palm seal.
Gao Pragmatic asked this, and his intention was very obvious.
Chen Ju's face condensed and he said: "There is almost no movement in Yikun Palace today. I just heard that Concubine Zheng called the third son of the Emperor. The mother and son sat opposite each other in the palace and were silent for a long time.
As for the Royal Horse Supervisor, Li Zhangyin didn’t seem to have any reaction to today’s events. Apart from accompanying the Queen Mother to visit Kunning Palace, he went back to enjoy himself.”
Gao pragmatic frowned and said: "Having fun?"
"Yes, Li Zhangyin went to Guangjinfang." Chen Ju replied.
Gao Pragmatic was puzzled, with a puzzled look on his face: "Where is Guangjinfang? I have never heard of such a place in Beijing."
"Uh... The Marquis doesn't know something. This Guangjinfang is not a neighborhood, but the name of a casino." Chen Ju was a little embarrassed, and then he remembered that Gao Pingshi had always had a clean reputation, let alone a gambling house.
I never go to a brothel either.
"So that's the case. This is because we are ignorant." It suddenly dawned on Gao Jingshi, but immediately he became suspicious again and asked: "Who opened this Guangjinfang? Is there any unusual background?"
Unexpectedly, Chen Ju didn't know much about it. He opened his mouth and shook his head with a wry smile: "I have never been there, and I have not even learned about it."
Fortunately, Liu Ping stood up at this time and said with an apologetic smile: "Well... Lord Hou, I have been there twice. Although I didn't go out to check, I heard that this casino is the property of former Prime Minister Wang Taicang - of course, in name only.
It was only opened by a distant relative of Wang Taicang who was beyond his reach."
Gao Pingshi's eyes suddenly focused, and Chen Ju sat upright.
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ps: It’s a little late, but it’s still noon, right?