Such an obvious event that the city of Nanjing changed hands was well known to local passers-by, so the chamberlain there quickly sent the news back to Wuchang. People felt a little sudden when they heard the news, but it was expected, but they didn't expect it.
So fast.
As usual, the Huguang Cabinet gathered in the lobby to discuss and exchange opinions. The sun was already high when Zhang Ning arrived. Today is a sunny and sunny day, and the weather is relatively hot. There are three ministers sitting on the chairs, all of whom are older than Zhang Ning.
Much bigger, each with a fan.
The one who is most likely to be noticed is Zhu Heng. He is actually holding a cattail leaf fan, which is what the old men in the market towns often take to enjoy the shade under the trees. How does it look now when it is held in the hands of a bureaucrat wearing red official uniform and black gauze?
How unexpected. Zhu Heng was the most unkempt person present. His beard looked messy, his temples were stubbled and not neatly combed, and his clothes, which were washed by a slave, were relatively clean but a little wrinkled.
Both Yang Shiqi and Zheng Qia had a graceful demeanor. After the three of them stood up to greet each other, Zhang Ning took his seat on the left side first, and everyone followed suit. Zheng Qia flicked his hand and pulled out an ink painting of mountains and rivers on a paper fan.
There is a poem.
Zhang Ning was still the same as before, speaking crisply and clearly, but speaking quickly and without much of a leisurely temperament. He said directly: "Today's three topics, you can discuss them in person if you have anything to say. First, the progress of the expansion of troops.
; Second, the financial budget; Third, our next strategy after Southern Zhili falls into the hands of the army."
Zhu Heng flipped through the file at hand and said first: "Based on the number of soldiers reported from various places, as long as the laws we promised in the early stage are implemented, we can recruit at least 15 soldiers from all the counties of Huguang within two months.
One hundred thousand people. In addition, the Ministry of Household Affairs sent people to check the grain and grass in various government treasuries last month. There was no shortage of grain and grass. Now the main shortage is money. There is a shortage of gold, silver and copper, which cannot pay for the military supplies. Officials and soldiers are forced to use material rolls, and there are complaints because
It is difficult to circulate and purchase goods in the market; merchants who deal with the government are naturally unwilling to accept the paper we print, and payment in kind is not welcome, and it is not easy to record and calculate, so gold, silver, and copper pipes are used."
Yang Shiqi went on to say: "Baoqiao has been abolished in Huguang and other places, and there is a shortage of money in the market. The local government has initially decided that tax collection by the Ministry of Households will arouse the dissatisfaction of the people, so they can only collect in kind. I will wait and see the reason, because Huguang
There is a shortage of minerals, and it is also the time when treasure money expires. Only Yunnan has more copper mines in the nearest place, but they are too far apart, and the distant water cannot save the nearby fire."
"Is there any way to maintain the cost of adding 100,000 horses?" Zhang Ning asked.
Yang Shiqi said: "For the present plan, we can only start with the salt administration to solve the urgent need. The salaries of officials and soldiers are paid in physical coupons and in kind; when purchasing military supplies from merchants, they pay salt coupons, and the merchants use the salt coupons to the craftsmen.
Receive salt and sell it. At the same time, we order inspections in various places to strictly check illegal salt, and use severe penalties to deter them to ensure the implementation of the salt policy."
When Zhang Ning heard this, he remembered that in later generations, salt cost one yuan a pack and was not something worthy of ordinary people's attention. Now that it has become more expensive, salt dealers are as dangerous as drug dealers... In the past, the people in Peach Blossom Villa worked hard to do this.
The main thing is trafficking in illegal salt. The official monopoly on salt policy has become an important financial component of the government. Now we can’t care whether this salt policy is reasonable or not. It can at least solve part of the financial problem and cannot be given up. Zhang Ning
I felt that we should continue following the methods used by previous rulers, and immediately agreed with the suggestions of Yang Shiqi and others.
While listening to a few people talking, he took out a book and started taking notes. Ordinary scribes who didn't make special arrangements for taking notes had to do it themselves. Because the affairs of various yamen were various and trivial, if they were not detailed and classified, it would accumulate.
You won't even be able to figure it out yourself.
Zhu Heng added: "After the North pacifies Nanzhili, it must mobilize its troops to the west. Jiangxi is adjacent to Nanzhili and has no danger to defend, so it is under the greatest threat. From what I see, we should use the Yangtze River defense to move towards
The strategy of aggressive attack in the east. If the war on the east front is successful, our army can further encroach and annex southern Zhili, and the whole situation will open up. We will truly control the south of the Yangtze River and form a rule by dividing the river."
"I second the proposal," Yang Shiqi said.
Yang Shiqi said: "Since ancient times, there have been kings in Jinling. Taizu raised his troops and settled in Yingtian Mansion, so that he could send troops from all directions to conquer the left and right. Our army should attack Nanjing first, then attack the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, and then rely on the Grand Canal to move northward, so as to directly threaten the capital. This victory has the potential to win.
."
Zhang Ning did not immediately express his position on this matter. He had to wait for letters from Yuezhou Yao Fang and Lizhou Zhou Mengxiong, at least to see their positions first. Zheng Qia on the spot did not say anything about this matter. Zhang Ning thought about it.
One Yao Zhou came up with the opposite opinion... There were two cabinet ministers on both sides of the opinion, so Zheng Qia would be useful. Then he could meet with Zheng Qia privately and persuade him to express his position according to Zhang Ning's own wishes.
In this way, major strategic plans are agreed upon by the majority of cabinet ministers. Zhang Ning does not have an arbitrary approach, and theoretically there is much less support.
Zheng Qia did not talk about the strategy of entering the army, but then changed the topic and talked about the internal affairs of the Ministry of Rites, suggesting that the Enke Township Examination could be held this autumn to select candidates according to Jianwen's edict.
The war has not yet ended, and who is the legal government of the Ming Dynasty has not yet been determined. The fact of Kai Enke is not very important. If the Huguang regime fails, those people who participated in the imperial examinations and gained honors in the Jianwen regime can be
Do you admit it?
...After the discussion, Yang Shiqi and others left the lobby and stayed in the cabinet duty room until noon. Then they went to their respective six-bu Yamen to handle official business in the afternoon. This was their daily schedule.
There is a side room on the side of the meeting hall, called the Zanzheng Pavilion. It is usually a place for officials, staff and scribes to participate in recording official affairs. However, the person staying in the Zanzheng Pavilion here is a woman, who is the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Xia Yu, one of the Four Constant Attendants. Although there is a curtain at the door of the ear room, all the officials know her existence... The ginseng in the inner palace knows the government affairs because of the delay in the intelligence of the imperial court's deployment of troops from Sichuan to Jingzhou last year.
Added rules. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has set up a detailed intelligence agency, allowing them to send people to participate in government affairs strategies, so that they can better serve the center of the political power.
After the ministers left, Xia Yu also came out of the penthouse and followed Zhang Ning all the way through the corridor behind the hall. Zhang Ning felt that she had something to say, so she backed away at the corner and let Xia Yu follow behind to the inner chamber.
in the corridor.
As expected, she called from behind: "Your Majesty, please stay."
Zhang Ning turned around and waited for her to say something. He saw that this woman was tall, well-dressed and well-behaved, and had a pretty face. But for some reason, many women lacked a sense of style and femininity in Zhang Ning's eyes.
I usually don't realize that there is any difference between them. For example, this is the case with Xia Yu. When I see her talking about things in broad daylight, I won't have any thoughts in private.
She whispered: "Chunmei has something to tell the prince. One of Yu Qian's slaves returned to Wuchang from Jiangxi yesterday. He may have brought a letter home."
After hearing this, Zhang Ning said calmly: "I understand."
Yu Qian's letter should have been brought to Mr. Dong. After he went to Jiangxi to take office, his wife did not go with him. Zhang Ning didn't know how to encourage Mr. Dong to monitor him at first. This should not be done too obviously. It was just too modest.
Exchanging letters at home is also a kind of connection.
Not long ago, Zhang Ning wanted to see Ms. Dong again. The excuse he was thinking was to probe her from time to time, but he couldn't deceive himself. For some reason, he just wanted to see her. But last time, Zhang Ning asked her to go to the shore of Shahu Lake.
We met in another hospital, but she broke the appointment, so we didn't meet.
At this time, Zhang Ning was wondering why Mr. Dong didn't want to meet. After the tryst at the theater, she said, "We will have nothing to do with each other from now on." Of course, he didn't believe it. At most, he thought it was a joke of jealousy and coquettishness... Maybe this kind of secret date, in
It seems that Mrs. Dong is indeed having an affair or adultery. She is a person who has been influenced by ethics and education, so she should be under great pressure.
This time Xia Yu brought news that it was not something special for Yu Qian to bring a letter from home. Zhang Ning originally planned to put it aside, but he kept thinking about it from time to time in the cabinet study all afternoon. It was just after midnight (it was past three in the afternoon)
Then he left the cabinet office and asked the Peach Blossom Fairy to find Chunmei.
Last time I had a tryst with Dong at the theater, the only person who knew about it was Chunmei. She had been following Yao Ji's order, so there was no need to hide it from her. And Zhang Ning wanted to do something and needed to go alone, so it would be best to
He went to Chunmei to save more people from knowing about his affair.
This woman was worthy of being a go-getter who had climbed up from an illegal cult, and she was very efficient in her work. In less than an hour, she came back and asked Zhang Ning to go out with him immediately. Arrangements were made.
Chunmei wore a gray cloth, pretended to be a groom, and drove Zhang Ning privately out of the Chu Palace. She could enter and leave the palace without any hindrance.
The two of them took the car southbound, passed Wuchangfu Yamen and Fuqian Street, and walked one street further before stopping outside the Chenghuang Temple. At this time, there were many people outside the Chenghuang Temple, and they saw a flow of people carrying a clay figurine on the street.
The Taoist priests sang gongs and drums with ritual instruments tied with Japanese paper while parading through the streets. Zhang Ning asked Chunmei what was going on. She said that it was a ritual performed by the gentry in the city who collected money to offer sacrifices to the Yin God to bring good weather. She also said that Dong would be arriving soon.
Here to watch the excitement. Zhang Ning asked her how she knew, but at this time, people walking on the street happened to be passing by, and the gongs and drums were beating too loudly, and nothing could be heard.
After waiting for a long time, Chunmei suddenly opened the curtain in front and said to Zhang Ning in the carriage: "Here we come, look to the left."
Zhang Ning followed her instructions and looked in the direction she pointed, and sure enough she found Mr. Dong. She was accompanied by a girl carrying a bamboo basket, watching the bustle on the street as she walked, as if she was unaware of Zhang Ning's existence.
"That slave is really in the way." Chunmei said with a smile. Then she discussed it with Zhang Ning in a low voice.
The two of them got off the carriage, left the carriage and horses on the roadside, and walked straight towards Dong.