Chapter 362: Deceiving the World and Stealing Fame
When Hu Ying came to meet Yang Rong at the appointment, Yang Sihai was also invited, but the other guests and staff were not present. There were only a few people, so it was more convenient to talk. The meeting room was deep and there were no rooms around the inner palace.
There are a lot of people waiting, the living room is spacious and decorated in a simple and elegant way, and the lighting is very good, so it is quiet but not gloomy. It is indeed a very suitable place.
In addition to Yang Rong and Sihai, Hu Ying and his entourage were present. There was also a scribe in the side room next to the room, who was responsible for recording the content of the conversation. The layout of the side room was a bit like the "like" in the Yamen office.
"Government Pavilion", but there is a curtain hanging at the door, and the clerk does not show up; otherwise, when meeting guests in the mansion, you can still see people making pens next to them.
Recording it is a bit like asking for a confession, which obviously affects the atmosphere of the reception. At the same time, in addition to retaining useful information in words, the role of the scribe also plays a certain role in witnessing evidence; a minister of the Ministry of War and a minister had a secret meeting in private, and Yang
Rong felt that there should be a certain degree of confidentiality, but they were not plotting any conspiracy.
"His name is Xiao Liu, and he is the entourage of my friend Yan Ruofei. He just returned from Huguang in the first ten days of this month." Hu Ying introduced the people around him as soon as he arrived.
Xiao Liu was in his thirties, with a humble but calm demeanor. He looked like someone who had been in and out of government offices for a long time and often interacted with people of high status, so he could behave calmly and appropriately in front of minister-level officials. He came forward to pay homage:
"I see you, Mr. Yang... Doctor Yang."
Yang Rong nodded in response. Just now, Hu Ying mentioned that his confidant Yan Ruofei was well prepared and had already guessed the reason for today's meeting.
Sure enough, sometimes it is quite easy to deal with an old official like Hu Ying, who is a completely sensible person. I think the gray-haired Master Hu is inferior to Yang Rong now, but it is just bad luck, not because he does not know how to be an official.
...Last year in the Battle of Yuanshui in the south of Dongting Lake, the army lost 100,000 troops. Even Xue Lu, the Marquis of Wuyang, just missed losing his head. The Marquis of Wuyang was from
Emperor Yongle took his life to serve the Zhu family when he started the army. Now he has lost his official position and returned to his hometown to retire. It was entirely because Emperor Xuande spared his life for the sake of his grandfather and other military officials. Otherwise, he would definitely not have done it.
He was spared lightly; but Hu Ying, who was also involved in this matter, was still in the position of governor of Huguang and in charge of military affairs at that time, so he did nothing wrong. Now he still holds the position of minister of the Ministry of War, which cannot but be said to be his ability.
Hu Ying and Yang Rong have known each other for a long time, but they didn't have a close friendship before. Otherwise, Hu Ying wouldn't have been excluded from the circle of power when he first supported the protection. But last year, after Hu Ying suddenly took up an official position in the Ministry of War, she did a lot
It was very good and was highly praised by the Ministry of War. As the minister of the Ministry of War and the governor of Huguang, he always reported the decision of the Ministry of War to the Ministry of War for its decision whenever there was an undecided situation. This was a gesture of respect for the authority of the central government. Later, he was not guilty because of the contribution of these colleagues with whom he had no close friendship.
.
At this time Yang Rong said: "I noticed in the news about Yuan Jie (Hu), an incident in Ji'an Mansion in Jiangxi Province at the end of last year. It seems that Sihai reminded me..." He looked at Yang Sihai indifferently, "
Yuanjie thinks that the person who failed to raise the army in Jiangxi is really Prince Jianwen?"
Since Hu Ying had been mentally prepared for a long time, he responded quickly at this moment. However, he did not express his own opinions and only said in a descriptive tone: "The matter that Taizong ordered me to investigate back then originated from the incident in Nanjing after the 'Battle of Jingnan'"
The whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen and the Crown Prince were not found; after the fire in the palace was extinguished, several of the charred remains were carefully examined and found to be missing.
There are Jianwen and his son. The two people I mainly investigated were these two. At the end of last year, I heard that someone in Jiangxi was using the banner of Prince Jianwen, so I couldn't help but privately sent my secret friend Yan Ruofei to go out to find out. But I didn't make it in time.
When they arrived at the border of Ji'an Prefecture, the rebels had already collapsed. However, Yan Ruofei brought back two very useful pieces of news."
After he finished speaking, he turned to his entourage and said, "Xiao Liu, please report the truth to Yang Butang again."
"Yes, sir." Xiao Liu cupped his fists and said, "The first thing is that after the rebels were defeated, the Ji'an government troops seized a large number of firearms. Naturally, those things cannot be made by the local government, let alone military supplies allocated by the imperial court.
, supposedly from the 'King of Hunan' rebels, and are no different from the firearms used by previous rebels.
To; Brother Yan took the opportunity to contact the government for enquiry, only to find out that these arms were escorted from Changsha, Huguang. The second thing was that Emperor Jianwen's real body appeared in Wuchang City. When he first arrived, he got off the carriage and now
In front of everyone; after our people saw it, they drew a portrait according to the pattern."
After Xiao Liu finished speaking, Hu Ying took out a roll of paper and unfolded it, "This is the appearance of Jianwen that Yan Ruofei and others saw. He has not appeared for more than 20 years, but he does look like him."
Me. In addition, the rebels in Jiangxi are related to the 'King of Xiang', but they are not a group of people called the Suzaku Army, and their combat effectiveness is far different."
After hearing this, Yang Rong pondered for a long time, and only said: "It does make sense, and there are quite a few truths to it." He did not express his position too much.
At this time, Sihai said: "Students have suggested that Lu Qianshi, the Fusi of Jinyiwei Nanzhen, should be informed, and he should send people to further investigate the clues left by the Jiangxi rebels. If Jinyiwei goes to investigate, he has the right to ask for government assistance and manpower.
That's enough, learn
I think it is most appropriate. With the information we currently have, we can further support the previous inferences, but without evidence to prove it, it is difficult to present the ominous content to the emperor, and it is difficult to make corresponding countermeasures."
"What Sihai said is absolutely true, so it is very appropriate to do this." Yang Rong glanced at Hu Ying and said with a smile, "The future generations are to be feared."
After hearing this, Hu Ying looked at each other and smiled. For a moment, he actually envied the young Yang Sihai. Although Sihai's current position was lower than him, he had just entered the officialdom and there were still many opportunities, so he could seize them.
Go further; and his career ambitions have almost come to an end. However, Hu Ying has few feelings for Yang Sihai.
From the few times I have made friends with him, it seems that this person is very talented and smart, but he is really lacking in temperament. I can’t say exactly where he is lacking in temperament. In short, it is just a feeling. It depends on his future destiny... The destiny of a person is not necessarily that he gets older as he gets older.
The more experience you have, the better. It is common for an old man to be inferior to a young man in his thirties.
Sihai was praised by Yang Rong and acted neither arrogant nor impetuous, but his speech was obviously more proactive, "The King of Hunan and Xiang, 'known as' the third son of Jianwen, must have ambitions to rebel against him; he regarded Jianwen as the emperor, and his left and right officials also
It turns out that there are many remnants of Jianwen, but they hold real power. They must be suspicious of Jianwen and his prince.
.If the imperial court can really find the root of the problem and use a little estrangement, at least it will make the rebels unable to take care of themselves; at worst, it will break their alliance with Emperor Jianwen and attack each other, so that his reputation as a deceitful person will be gone, and his despicable conspiracy will be eliminated.
The wolf's ambition is revealed in front of the world, and when the time comes, the imperial court will raise troops to defeat the bandits, and it will be a great way to follow heaven."
"Huh..." Yang Rong uttered a meaningless modal word, which seemed to mean to stop him, but it was too late. He said the abacus so clearly, and Hu Ying was right in front of him. It seemed that if he could make a great contribution this time
, there is no way to exclude Hu Ying anymore.
However, Yang Sihai's plan won Yang Rong's heart.
It may seem like a conspiracy, but this trick was a common method used by the Ming Dynasty to divide the opponents' forces and use clever means to restrain each other and hinder each other. The trick rose to the level of strategy. In Mongolia, Jiaozhi, southwest Tibetan areas, and northwest
In the border areas, the imperial court has been using this strategy, but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't work, the emperor's personal troops will be used to conquer it by force to weaken its overall strength.
Among these intrigues or strategies of the imperial court, Minister Yang Rong was one of the main figures. He actively planned the layout and did too many "bad things". Therefore, in the early and middle periods of the Ming Dynasty, the forces around the empire had almost no chance to develop and grow.
They were plotted at the first sign; the imperial court created a very unfavorable international environment for foreigners. Even if foreigners accidentally seized the opportunity to make progress during the difficult period of the imperial court, it was only temporary, and they were still suppressed in the long term.
Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu in the north, the powerful threat has been temporarily eliminated, but the many peripheral forces of the Central Plains Dynasty have never stopped. In the Tang Dynasty, there were Tubo, Huhua in Hebei, and Uighurs in the north; the situation faced by the Song Dynasty was even worse, and Xixia
, Liao, Jin, and Mongolia took turns to rise, with aggressive force, and the Yanyun territory was never recovered. The son-emperor who has been a minister for thousands of years is a country of brothers who are virtuous brothers. As for giving women, money, silk, ceding land, and protection fees to seek peace.
, is even more common.
Of course, there are many reasons for those situations, including historical legacy, world fortune, and so on. It is not just a matter of imperial strategy. However, from the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the time when the many shortcomings were so numerous that it was impossible to save, no foreign power could really rise for at least two hundred years.
, its imperial strategy still had a more or less certain influence.
Yang Rong sat on a chair and looked at the sunlight outside the window, holding his beard thoughtfully, seemingly lost in thought.
After a long time, Hu Yingcai said: "Lu Qianshi of Jinyiwei had many contacts with Xiaguan when he was in Huguang. If we continue to pursue the matter, I would like to have Xiaguan come forward to discuss it? Please let me know."
"Okay, let Yuan Jie take care of it." Yang Rong nodded. Now it is impossible for Hu Ying to stay out of the matter. He is willing to contribute and just follow his wishes.
Hu Ying stood up and bowed, "In this case, I will not bother you further and take my leave."
Yang Rong hurriedly stood up and made a gesture of seeing him off. Hu Ying said hurriedly: "Don't dare, please stay. Yang Butang is a low-ranking official and it is inconsistent with etiquette." Yang Rong then shouted: "Come, let's see the guest off."
Sihai calmed down for a while, and seeing that Yang Rong had no intention of staying, he figured there was nothing to discuss in private, so he stood up and left.
Yang Rong sat quietly alone for a while, then walked to a table by the wall, looked at the end of a Go game on it, reached out and twisted a sunspot and dropped it.