Zhu Yunwen was named emperor, but he usually deliberately stayed away from politics. But recently he seemed to be particularly concerned about the situation in Jiangxi. He often summoned Zheng Qia, the Minister of Rites, to the Zhongzheng Hall for inquiries. Zheng Qia was a cabinet minister and was in and out of the decision-making center on a daily basis. He basically knew the inside story of major events.
of.
Emperor Jianwen once said casually: "If we defeat Xuan Dabing this time, we can hope to enter Nanjing and restore the country; if we lose, we will be safe from enemies on all sides."
After all, he was a man who had been emperor for four years. This opinion made the ministers agree.
Fortunately, Zhu Yunwen never mentioned the prince again after the night he summoned Guo Jie. It seemed that Zhu Wenkui was not his biological son and there was no need to ask. The emperor did not mention it, and the ministers deliberately avoided it and never dared to touch this matter.
stubble.
One day, the Japanese minister Guo Jie suddenly secretly entered the emperor's chamber in Zhongzheng Hall alone to announce something.
There is a stronghold of Jianwen Yuchen in Jiangxi. It was originally established to build the emperor's secret mausoleum and used the Taoist temple as a cover. The mausoleum was later stopped and Zheng Qia stepped down from this responsibility. The people in the Taoist temple were controlled by Guo Jie and they stopped working.
After the mausoleum was built, he was responsible for secretly monitoring Yu Qian, the governor of Jiangxi.
Those informants discovered something fishy this time, and after many twists and turns, the news finally reached Guo Jie's hands. This news is not new, but apart from the secret agents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Guo Jie's people are the only ones who know about it. Yu Qian met privately in Jingdezhen
An old friend is suspected to be a lobbyist and spy sent by the Xuande Dynasty.
Zhu Yunwen asked: "Does King Xiang know about this?"
Guo Jie said: "We don't know much, but it is reported that Yu Qian met his old friend in broad daylight, and there were many followers around. I'm afraid this matter cannot be hidden from the eyes of the chamberlain."
After hearing this, Zhu Yunwen said: "I understand."
Because the place where Guo Jie secretly met the emperor was in the palace, Queen Ma behind the scenes also heard about it. Empress Ma, who was full of hatred and had nowhere to start, suddenly felt that this matter seemed to be an opportunity.
…
The pain in Zhang Ning's leg had not gone away, but he came to the cabinet office as usual and asked Xu Wenjun to get the newly received official documents.
Among them was Yu Qian's memorial. He immediately put down other official documents and started reading this memorial.
When he reads something, he has a habit of quickly skimming the main content before deciding whether to read it carefully. Although an article has a lot of words and no punctuation, Zhang Ning has long been accustomed to such words, and it also takes less than a minute to read it.
Got a rough idea.
Yu Qian actually wrote a letter asking for his resignation, thinking of quitting? Zhang Ning hurriedly read the memorial carefully again.
In the article, Yu Qian said that the Jiangxi War was about to break out, and he was deeply aware of the great impact of this battle and the serious consequences; he was originally a civil servant, and when he was the governor of Huguang and controlled military affairs, he mainly relied on the generals dispatched by the court. As a civil servant, he was good at managing politics and not leading troops, so he might not be qualified for Jiangxi.
defense. Then he asked the cabinet to choose another general to take over all military power in Jiangxi. He could then concentrate on rectifying the administration of various governments in Jiangxi and continue to manage the local people's livelihood.
Zhang Ning first intuitively felt that this seemed to be a test, because this approach was a common method in the officialdom. Even the ministers in the DPRK would resign and return to their hometowns easily. Then the emperor felt that the minister was not bad, so he wanted to retain him and change him one by one.
Contradictory to the invisible.
However, Yu Qian's temptation made Zhang Ning very satisfied, because regardless of whether Yu Qian really wanted to give up his military power or just wanted to make a gesture, Zhang Ning could naturally approve his request to take back his military power... The great thing is that Qian did not resign.
, he did not say that he would not be the governor of Jiangxi, he only said that he wanted to have peace of mind on government affairs; therefore, granting his request was not a difficult thing to do in terms of face.
The world is also so strange. I was originally worried that others would have too much military power, but when he wanted to give up on his own initiative, it actually made people a little reluctant to give up.
Yu Qian is by no means ignorant of military affairs as he claimed. There are people who are born with military talents, not to mention that they performed very well during the battle in Huguang. According to Zhang Ning's knowledge, this person is the person who presided over the defense of Beijing, and his illustrious achievements are recorded in the Youth Book.
, is this a person who has gained a false reputation?
Zhang Ning believed in his heart that under the same conditions, even if he left everything in Wuchang and went to Jiangxi to replace Yu Qian in charge of military affairs, he would probably not do as well as him.
Xu Wenjun on the side saw Zhang Ning's expression was different, so he asked casually. Zhang Ning murmured: "Yu Qian actually submitted a petition to relinquish military power..."
Xu Wenjun said: "Literati are just hypocritical and always give up their choices. Isn't this just out of anger?"
Zhang Ning smiled bitterly and was noncommittal.
He thought to himself: He had long thought that Yu Qian would never return to the Xuande Dynasty. Was he too suspicious? Thinking about it from another angle, if Yu Qian was allowed to fight this battle, as long as the results were achieved, he would not fight again.
It is possible for the imperial court to reunite and influence Yang Shiqi at the same time; at that time, it will truly regain this group of talents.
...A few days later, during the cabinet meeting, Yang Shiqi talked about Jiangxi military affairs and said: "A batch of firearms and flintlocks newly made by the Ordnance Bureau, the veteran thought they could be transferred to Jiangxi and delivered to the Yongding Camp for use. Elite soldiers with sharp weapons can prepare for the Jiangxi War."
.There are also more than 30,000 surrendered troops from the King of Han in Jiujiang City, which can still be used. The Suzaku Army is insufficient in strength and needs a surrender at this juncture. However, after the fall of the King of Han in Nanjing, the soldiers who surrendered have no place to rely on, like a rootless Ping.
The old minister thinks that it is still reliable. He can allocate a batch of firearms and the 'Han King's Army' and order the governor to supervise the training to prepare for military danger..."
Yang Shiqi was talking eloquently. Zhang Ning suddenly understood: Yu Qian had long wanted to ask for guns.
However, Yu Qian may have thought that asking for guns and ammunition at this time was a threat and a test, so he resigned from the military first, and then asked Yang Shiqi to help him raise the matter in court... These two teachers and students cooperated really well.
tacit agreement.
Zhang Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yu Qian's gesture was not only gentler, but also showed that he had no nostalgia for military power.
A ray of sunlight shone in from the window and dazzled Zhang Ning's eyes. Only then did he notice that the rain had stopped at some point. The sunlight seemed to dispel the haze in the antique house and also brought a ray of light.
His heart suddenly seemed to brighten up. It was sunny after the rain, the air outside seemed to be particularly fresh, the grass and trees seemed to have been washed, and the world was clear and clear.
Zhang Ning took a deep breath and made a decisive decision: "I think what Mr. Yang said is very true. If you have no objections, you can order the Ordnance Bureau to arrange the transportation of firearms."
Then he took out an envelope from his arms and said, "Not long ago, I received a letter from Yu Qian, asking him to step down from the post of Jiangxi Defense. At the moment when the imperial court is employing people, Minister Yu has been appointed at the critical moment and cannot give up halfway. I refuted this petition.
, Duke Yang has a teacher-student relationship with him, should he also write letters and advise? Let Yu Shilang not worry too much and rest assured on state affairs."
Yang Shiqi hurriedly stood up and bowed: "The old minister apologized to the King of Xiang on behalf of Tingyi, and then he definitely wrote a book and scolded him. He did not understand the righteousness and failed to trust the emperor and the King of Xiang!"
After the discussion, several ministers came out of the lobby together. Yang Shiqi looked calm and said to Zhu Heng casually: "Zhu Butang should have said that the request for the allocation of firearms should be made. I seem to be acting on my behalf today."
Zhu Heng stroked his messy beard and smiled meaningfully: "Where is it? Mr. Yang is the chief minister of the imperial court and the residence of hundreds of officials. What can't be brought up? Even if the lower official wants to say something, he has to talk to him first.
Mr. Yang will discuss it."
…
In Duchang County, Yu Qian received several official documents one after another from Jiujiang City, all from Wuchang.
The King of Xiang rejected the resignation letter one after another and sent an official letter about Jiangxi's arrangement to receive firearms. Yu Qian breathed a sigh of relief and mentioned it again. He didn't know how he felt this time. It was supposed to be a good thing. He had tested his trust in the Huguang regime.
It has not been destroyed yet; but next, he will experience the civil war, and Yu Qian is actually a little tired of this kind of war.
Facing the vastness of Poyang Lake, he asked himself many times what he was doing. The ancient sage said that he should examine himself three times a day. Have he ever been so confused, or should he stick to the precepts in the classics as the criterion?
At this moment, a general walked onto the tower, stood up straight with his feet together, straightened his arms and saluted. This general was from the Yongding camp, so he used this weird etiquette. "Your Majesty, sir.
, a visitor came to the city and asked to see him. He claimed to be a good friend of your Excellency, and his name was Wang Jian."
"Wang Jian?" Yu Qian suddenly wondered why he came back. Of course he was not captured, otherwise there would be no reason to ask for a meeting. Yu Qian said, "Bring him up and meet him."
"Yes!" the young general responded.
Wang Jian was a dusty man. He was dressed in cloth and his head was wrapped in a dirty cloth. He hadn't changed it in an unknown amount of time. He walked up to Yu Qian and calmly saluted Yu Qian with clasped fists. Yu Qian asked, "Why are you back?"
This time Wang Jian did not secretly speak silently in words like last time. He said loudly: "The students still have doubts in their minds. Can the teacher please let the students be in front of the horse and behind the horse?"
Yu Qian said: "If you commit yourself here, what will happen to your family members in Nanjing?"
Wang Jian said: "You can't have your cake and eat it too, you have to sacrifice your life for righteousness."
Yu Qian pondered for a moment, Wang Jian should have been able to hide it from Wuchang's eyes and ears last time they met privately, and now there is nothing to hide if they are just above board. And suddenly, Yu Qian really wanted to keep Wang Jian by his side and talk to him.
It seems that Wang Jian is another self. If he solves his puzzles, why is he not solving his own puzzles?
Wang Jian was just a small role, and he did not openly rebel when he stayed in Jiangxi. Logically speaking, the court would not confiscate his family and exterminate his family. But if his family was really implicated, there was nothing they could do. Yu Qian was noncommittal and did not chase Wang Jian away.
.
Wang Jian asked at this time: "My mentor is ready to go to war with the army of Nanzhili?"
Yu Qian said with a straight face: "People will die in war. Soldiers eat food and serve the country. Death in battle is the rightful destination. What we can do is to restrain military discipline to prevent soldiers from turning into bandits and causing harm to civilians. This battle is destined to be inevitable.
, whether the official army of the Xuande Dynasty defeated the Zhuque Army, or the Zhuque Army defeated the official army, bloodshed and drifting were destined to end! There is no day in the sky, and there are no two kings in the country. The winner will eventually be determined. The King of Xiang Feng Emperor Jianwen
Zhengshuo, there is nothing right or wrong for us to serve for this purpose!"
He was trying to convince Wang Jian, and at the same time he was convincing himself.