After a long separation, Zhang Ning and Bai Fengjiao just met. After saying a few words, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Many things have to be struck while the iron is hot. It would be wrong to pick up the toilet after it has been cold for a while. This time we meet again, I always feel that there is a big gap.
, Bai Fengjiao no longer feels the same as before. I wonder if she still remembers the past three years, or maybe she has changed in the past few years.
At this moment, Xu Wenjun found the yard and came into the house after announcing it. After she came in, she quietly looked at Bai Fengjiao. When Bai Fengjiao looked at her, she slightly bowed her knees and saluted. Then Xu Wenjun was stunned for a while, and then left
He came to Zhang Ning's side and said softly: "The cabinet office has important matters. Zhu Butang is asking about the prince and asked me to come to the palace to find you."
Zhang Ning didn't show up all day today, and when he heard this, he suddenly felt worried. Moreover, after seeing Bai Fengjiao, he just talked nonsense, and he felt like he had nothing to say... but he always felt that there was still a lot to say to her.
, but he didn't know where to start. Xu Wenjun happened to be here again, so he clasped his fists and said, "I'll take my leave for a while and go to the Yamen to have a look before I come to visit Miss Bai."
Bai Fengjiao said: "Your Majesty, if you have something to do, please do it first. I just arrived in your place and I want to rest for a while."
Zhang Ning then said goodbye and went out, going straight to the cabinet next to Wangjing Gate. It was already afternoon, and all the ministers in the cabinet should be in the six departments, but today Yang Shiqi, Zhu Heng and others were all inside the palace gate.
It turned out that the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent an urgent report on official matters. Nanzhili worked in detail and obtained the information. Ningguo Prefecture, Chizhou Prefecture, and Huizhou Prefecture received the edict from Nanjing, and local officials were ordered to prepare a large amount of grain and grass supplies.
As long as you look at the rough drawings, it is clear that these three places are in southern Zhili and close to Jiangxi. The information could not be clearer. Only when the imperial court wants to mobilize a large number of people to the west will it be necessary to prepare a lot of food and grass.
Several ministers sat together and had another small discussion. They just reiterated the old tune and believed that the soldiers and horses going south from Datong in Xuanfu would attack Jiangxi from southern Zhili with the cooperation of the Beijing camp.
Zhang Ning listened to their respective remarks, and could only make two reactions at the moment. First, he forwarded the intelligence to Jiangxi to Yu Qian and urged him to prepare for defense; then he wrote an order in his own hand and gave it to the minister, Shang Xia, who was in the cabinet.
Chang Shi asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send someone to Jiangxi to directly take over the detailed intelligence of Southern Zhili and cooperate with Yu Qian nearby to understand the movements of the government and troops.
He also feels more and more that there will be a new showdown, but there is no other way now. Most of the elite Yongding Battalion of the Suzaku Army is in Jiangxi, and there are tens of thousands of troops surrendered by the King of Han. Yu Qian has control of it, and the east side can be said to be heavily armed.
; In comparison, there are only two to three thousand people in the Yongding Battalion near Wuchang, and other new armies recruited from various places have gradually exceeded 50,000 people, but these large numbers of personnel are not yet fully capable of combat; Yuezhou to the west
There are two battalions of the navy and army of Yao Fang and his son, and one battalion of Zhou Mengxiong's cavalry in Lizhou. However, now that Zhang Ning is based in Huguang, it is very different from the past situation where he did not need to defend. He cannot move all the troops to the west.
Concentrate on the battle, otherwise the eyeing Sichuan Army near Jingzhou in the north of the Yangtze River and the local troops transferred south from Xiangyang and other places will cross the Yangtze River and go south into Huguang, leaving him vulnerable to enemies from both sides.
Zhang Ning and other ministers had anticipated the threats they would encounter today, and then carried out a series of long-term measures such as reorganizing the government agencies, wooing the gentry to issue decrees, recruiting strong men to expand the army and prepare for war. At this point, it is useless to rush, and they can only stabilize the situation.
Just keep the original plan.
In the evening, the cabinet officials came down one after another, and Zhang Ning left on horseback. After walking for a while on the North-South Avenue, the central axis of the Chu Palace, he thought about what happened when he saw Bai Fengjiao in the afternoon, and he still felt a little worried, so he decided to go see her again.
Unexpectedly, Bai Fengjiao was not there. After asking the maid, she found out that Concubine Yao had invited her over. Zhang Ning simply waited for her return in the living room in the courtyard.
Bai Fengjiao's valet Baicai was still there, and she soon came to the living room to serve Zhang Ning with tea and water.
I saw that this woman was also wearing their fancy clothes. The accessories she wore were obviously more complicated and she looked a bit black. In fact, all the Miao ambassadors Zhang Ning saw were darker. The only one who was white seemed to be Bai Fengjiao. Maybe it was due to the brighter weather in the Wuling Mountains.
It may be due to their living conditions and habits. Zhang Ning talked to her and asked: "What is your name?" Unexpectedly, the girl's innocent eyes widened and she spat out something completely
I don't understand. Zhang Ning immediately understood that she couldn't speak Chinese. He pointed at her and said slowly, "What's your name?" Then she said two Chinese characters with difficulty: "白苣."
"You... Baicai." Zhang Ning smiled, feeling a little happy in his heart, and the heavy mood before seemed to relax a lot. Even if the language is blocked, people can communicate easily.
At this time, Bai Fengjiao finally came back. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard that King Xiang was coming, so she rushed to the living room. When she walked under the eaves, she heard the sound of talking inside, and she suddenly felt curious: who was her personal attendant Baicai?
The most trustworthy person who can be brought out, but Baicai has never been out of Miao territory and has no contact with Han people. He is illiterate and cannot speak Chinese. Zhang Ning probably does not speak Miao language either. What can they say?
?
Out of curiosity, she stood under the window for a while and listened carefully to what was said inside.
Zhang Ning's voice said: "Speak slowly and use gestures, otherwise I won't know what you are talking about at all. Or wait until your lady comes back and ask her to translate."
Then I heard Baicai say in Miao dialect: "People in Miao territory say that Han officials have no credibility, and they often turn their backs and refuse to recognize them. You can't lie to us. If you trick the young lady into giving up, we won't let you go."
your!"
When Bai Fengjiao heard this, she thought that the people she had brought with her since childhood always thought of herself.
Zhang Ning's voice said again: "Your lady is quite white, and your surname is Bai. Why are you so dark? Do you only take a bath once a year?"
Bai Fengjiao rolled her eyes immediately. Then she heard Bai Ju said: "The Stone Man Cult wants the young lady to serve the wizard of the gods. The young lady is not willing to come here to ask you to help her. If the lady is not a perfect jade, and you can't help, Shi
The Human Religion will definitely ruin her reputation."
Bai Fengjiao couldn't listen anymore and walked quickly to the door. The two people inside turned around. She forced a smile and said: "The prince and Baixiao can't understand each other, how come they can talk to each other?"
Zhang Ning said with a slight embarrassment: "I'll wait here. If nothing happens, I'll have a few words with her...she just talked a lot, what did she want to say to me?"
Bai Fengjiao's eyes gradually dimmed: "Bai Qiao said that the Stone People's Cult will not let me go. Does the prince already know about the Stone People's Cult in Miao territory? Although this is a matter within Miao territory, several leaders of the big clans colluded to take advantage of it.
The power is so great that the father and king are unable to deal with it. The Stone Man Sect stipulates that the women of each family must go to the stone cave to serve the gods before they can talk about marriage. Otherwise, they will be severely punished in the name of the gods. The Miao King and the women in the clan also
There is no exception. If the prince does not send troops to help, or is unable to deal with the Stone Man Cult, I will have no choice but to serve. If I don't go or my body is not clean, it will give them an excuse to launch an attack, which will bring disaster to the Miao King and the Bai family."
Zhang Ning was silent for a while. If he heard about such a thing in later generations, he would definitely think it was ignorant and superstitious and sneer at it, but he couldn't laugh at this time. In the deep mountains and forests, no matter how unreasonable things are, they can exist without external interference, because no one can
The ruler with the greatest resistance; even in the Ming Dynasty, if a similar tyranny occurred here, who could "bring justice"? In the Yuan Dynasty, things like allowing the Yellow River to overflow and encircling farmland for pasture, etc., could exist for eight reasons.
It lasted ten years; later the Manchu Qing Dynasty lasted three hundred years.
He came back from his thoughts and saw Bai Fengjiao looking at him. His silence made her eyes show disappointment, and there was a glimmer of hope hidden in the disappointment.
"Zhou Mengxiong's Wuchang Battalion is stationed in Lizhou to the west. The camp has been training for nearly two years. It has more than 20,000 troops and is well-armed and well-trained." Zhang Ning said seriously, "I immediately ordered Zhou Mengxiong to take action on this matter.
.”
On Bai Fengjiao's oval and fair face, a pair of bright eyes seemed to be able to speak, and a look of relief flashed out at this moment. Zhang Ning felt good in his heart. Was he doing this for the sake of the overall situation and justice, or just because of himself?
A person's personal love for a beautiful woman? Even he himself can't tell the difference.
He added: "Emperor Jianwen has not yet issued an edict to make Miss Bai the second concubine of the King of Xiang, so this matter can be discussed after the Miao affairs have calmed down. If Miss Bai does not want to stay here, she can also go back to her hometown and
It won't affect side affairs, everything depends on your wishes, I have no intention of forcing you."
Zhang Ning's understatement and serious tone was very restrained. Bai Fengjiao faintly felt a kind of mysterious power. She couldn't help but look at Zhang Ning with admiration. But the woman was so contradictory. When she breathed a sigh of relief, she also felt some resentment.
Said: "I know that the prince is not much with me and not much without me, but it depends on my will."
Zhang Ning said hurriedly: "That's not what I meant. If it were my own opinion, of course I wanted to keep Miss Bai. Do you still remember what happened three years ago? Since then, I have been deeply attracted by Bai."
The girl was moved by her affection, but she had no choice but to force it at that time, so she had to give up."
"Yes." Bai Feng responded softly.
Zhang Ning said: "But now our Huguang regime is also worried about destruction. The imperial court has put down the Queen of Han in Nanjing, so naturally it will not allow Huguang to be separated. The whole country has millions of people to surround it. The Beijing camp mobilized in the north and east of the Yangtze River has declared
The number of the Great Nine Border Army and the local army has reached hundreds of thousands. It is difficult to reverse the situation of a strong enemy and a weak one. Today's prosperity and wealth will be wiped out if we lose a big battle. I can't even guarantee the safety of my mother and sister.
, how can I give you any promise? So I can’t force you to stay, so I said it’s up to your wishes, everything depends on God’s will.”
Bai Fengjiao also remained silent, but she already had concerns in her heart. If Zhang Ning hadn't said this, she would still be a little hesitant. After all, she was not very accustomed to a strange environment; but at this time, she had the urge to share the same difficulties with him.