Chapter 496 495 Wei Guangde's Plan

Wei Guangde went into the palace and found Li Fang, telling him that he had something urgent to report.

"Sir Wei, you came to see the prince so early, isn't this making it difficult for me?"

Li Fang complained with a bitter face.

Wei Guangde was also a little anxious, forgetting that without Gao Gong in the palace, Prince Yu had developed the habit of enjoying pleasure and sleeping late and getting up late.

However, the things he wanted to report were not suitable for Yin Shizhan and others to know, so he smiled and said to Li Fang: "Eunuch Li, I really have something urgent.

So, find me a room outside the inner courtyard, and wait for the prince to get up and wash, then please bring the prince directly here, keep this matter confidential, and it is best not to let Sir Yin and others know."

Hearing Wei Guangde say this, he thought that he had not come to the palace so early for a long time.

According to habit, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng usually go to see the progress of copying the "Yongle Encyclopedia" in the morning, and will return to the palace to eat at noon, and then stay until the court is over and go home.

Today is unusual, something big must have happened.

"Okay, I'll find you a room."

As he said, Li Fang took Wei Guangde to the inner courtyard, and asked as he walked: "Did anyone see you when you came in?"

He asked this question because Wei Guangde said he wanted to keep it secret. If he walked into the palace so openly, it would be troublesome if some talkative servant saw him and told Yin Shizhen about it.

"By the way, please send someone to the gatehouse to tell him, don't be afraid of others."

Li Fang called another eunuch to pass the message, and soon found a room for Wei Guangde.

"Shandai, you rest here first, I'll go see if His Highness has gotten up."

After Li Fang settled Wei Guangde, he turned and entered the inner courtyard.

At this time, it was past the hour of Mao, and all the major government offices in Beijing had already started working.

The war report and memorials from Fujian were sent to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Public Administration respectively, and were sent to the cabinet as soon as possible. At the same time, the news spread quickly in various government offices.

"It's finally over. The last bandit leader, Lin Chaoxi, was defeated and killed. Fujian can have peace for a while."

"Yes, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi all used the war as an excuse to delay tax payments. Now there is no reason."

Although the war took place in Jiangnan, officials in Beijing gradually realized that the annual salary payment was getting later and later, and the arrears were getting worse. As for the specific reasons, the Ministry of Revenue naturally blamed the military.

Because of the war, various places more or less postponed the payment of taxes on the grounds of military pay and safety. The Ministry of Revenue could not collect money from the local areas, so it was naturally unable to pay salaries on time.

Baochao can be issued in time, but who wants that thing?

Now it's good. There is no reason for the local areas to delay taxes. This year, Beijing officials should be able to get their salaries and annual gifts early.

In the cabinet, Xu Jie had already read the memorials sent by Fujian, but he was speechless for a long time.

Yuan Wei and Yang Bo on the side could only sit there and wait for Xu Jie's attitude.

The success of suppressing the rebellion in Fujian was of course a good thing. They couldn't understand why Xu Jie was still hesitating at this time. Wouldn't it be better to take the memorial and the battle report to Xiyuan directly?

Finally, Xu Jie put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at Yuan Wei and Yang Bo, and asked: "When the rebellion broke out in Fujian in the early years, the court asked Governor Hu Zongxian to suppress the bandits, but the war was not going well, and he could only maintain it and prevent the bandits from entering Zhejiang.

After that, Zhang Nie of Guangdong and Guangxi was appointed to supervise the Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi troops to suppress the bandits. Our official army was unstoppable and successfully suppressed the rebellion in just half a year.

Look at Hu Zongxian again. He has been the governor of the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River for many years, but he still has no achievements. The Japanese invasion has not been eradicated to this day."

"What your Excellency means is"

Yuan Wei heard that Xu Jie intended to use the victory report from Fujian to continue to criticize Hu Zongxian for his poor military management.

There was no comparison before, but now there is.

"Earlier, I wanted to let Guangdong and Guangxi fight against the Japanese pirates alone, and Hu Zongxian continued to lead the army to encircle and suppress Nanzhili, Zhejiang and Fujian. Now it seems that Zhang Nie is also a good candidate."

Speaking of this, Xu Jie looked at Yang Bo and asked, "If Zhang Nie is allowed to be the governor of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, what do you think?"

Xu Jie threw the question to the Minister of War. Suppressing Hu Zongxian was not only a consensus reached between him and Yuan Wei, but also a hint from Emperor Jiajing.

Now, the Guangdong-Jiangxi army is stationed in Fujian, which seems to be an opportunity to take Fujian from Hu Zongxian. At that time, the Jiangnan army commanded by Hu Zongxian will only be left in Zhejiang. Although the various guards in Nanzhili are nominally under his command, in fact, it is the territory of Nanjing nobles, and Hu Zongxian cannot command it at all.

However, there is a prerequisite for such a change, that is, Zhang Nie can control the situation in Fujian and Guangdong.

In fact, as the chief minister of the Ming cabinet, Xu Jie had seen the analysis of the movements of the Japanese pirates in the official documents sent by the Ministry of War, and believed that the Japanese invasion might be concentrated in Fujian and Guangdong in the next few years.

Dividing Hu Zongxian's power is not necessarily a good thing. Unless Emperor Jiajing has made up his mind to remove Hu Zongxian's military power, his proposal today is actually equivalent to helping Hu Zongxian shirk his faults.

Xu Jie naturally believes in Yang Bo's judgment on military affairs. As long as Yang Bo thinks it is feasible, he is willing to take the risk.

"Let Zhang Nie be the governor of Fujian and Guangdong"

Yang Bo just frowned slightly, as if thinking, and did not reject it outright, which gave Xu Jie hope.

"It's not impossible to have Zhang Nie as the governor. You can let Liu Xian and Yu Dayou serve as the generals of Fujian and Guangdong provinces to suppress the Japanese pirates. Both of them are veterans on the battlefield, and they should be able to ensure that there is no risk."

If Liu Xian and Yu Dayou were not there and Zhang Zhen could lead the army to suppress the Japanese alone, Yang Bo would never be at ease.

Despite the fierce offensive of the army and the completion of the counter-insurgency war in a short period of time, in fact, before Liu Xian was transferred from Nanjing to Guangdong and Yu Dayou was transferred from Guangxi to Jiangxi, Zhang Nian commanded the two armies to fight against the rebellion. Rebellious, but the results were not ideal.

The annihilation of Zhang Lian's rebels was not so much the result of Zhang Nian's command, but rather the result of his efforts. The Ministry of War dispatched troops and generals, and sent all the generals in Jiangnan who could fight. If under such circumstances, it was not possible If we win, then Jiangnan will simply change its dynasty.

However, I can only think about this in my heart. Externally, I still have to say that the Ming Dynasty has many soldiers and generals, and it is of course easy to quell rebellions in every place.

Just when Xu Jie was feeling happy, he heard Yuan Wei's voice.

"Just afraid."

Yuan Wei just said these two words and didn't say much.

"If Maozhong has any concerns, you can tell me."

Xu Jie asked with a smile while stroking his beard.

Yuan Wei hesitated for a long time before saying: "Liu Xian and Yu Dayou are both men with outstanding military exploits. Can Mr. Zhang suppress them?"

"hehe."

Almost at the same time, Xu Jie and Yang Bo chuckled.

"It's understandable that Maozhong didn't know about it. If we talk about Liu Xian, he first made his fortune under Zhang Nian. He was the governor of Sichuan at that time, and Liu Xian was only a first-class citizen."

Xu Jie introduced to Yuan Wei with a smile. Xu Jie had been in the center for a long time, so he was naturally more familiar with the experience of the ministers in the DPRK.

"But speaking of which, it was because the Ministry of War failed in its duty that Liu Xian came forward."

Yang Bo smiled bitterly.

The two of them exchanged words with each other and quickly let Yuan Wei know the origin of Liu Xian.

Liu Xian was from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. He ran to Sichuan to make a living when he couldn't survive in his hometown. Later, he met a noble man who helped him pretend to be a Sichuan native to take the martial arts examination and pass the martial arts examination to join the army.

Later, the Miao rebellion in Sichuan became the starting point of Liu Xian's career. The governor and governor of Sichuan quelled the rebellion, fought bravely in the war, and rose through the ranks without fear of death.

Knowing the origin of Liu Xian and Zhang Nie, Yuan Wei naturally no longer worried about the cooperation between the two.

"As for Yu Dayou, there were times when he made decisions without authorization on the battlefield, but he never disobeyed military orders, so there is no need to worry about him disobeying orders."

Finally, Xu Jie commented on Yu Dayou and believed that he would never disobey Zhang Zhen's military orders.

"That being the case, I have no objection."

Yuan Wei's worries were gone at this time, so he naturally would not object to Xu Jie's proposal.

Yang Bo also nodded, agreeing with Xu Jie.

"Then I will draft a secret report in the name of the cabinet and the Ministry of War and send it to Xiyuan?"

Seeing that neither of them objected, Xu Jie made a decisive decision.

"Zhang Lian ran away? Did Zhang Zhen catch Luo Pao?"

In a secluded wing of Prince Yu's Mansion, Prince Yu had been brought here by Li Fang, and he also saw the letter from Yu Dayou sent by Wei Guangde.

Military affairs, military and national weapons, King Yu never expected that someone would make such a big mistake.

Both the court and the central government were already considering the matter of increasing rewards for the generals who were judged this time. At this time, it was said that the leader of the thieves had escaped by boat.

At this time, King Yu lowered his head, thinking about what might happen next.

As Wei Guangde thought, King Yu hoped that if Zhang Lian encountered a shipwreck when he went to sea this time, it would be best to die outside. Although he was not killed by the army, as long as he did not show up in the Ming Dynasty, the matter would be considered over.

The most fearful thing is that the imperial court will praise the meritorious soldiers in this battle, and then report Zhang Lian's whereabouts.

King Yu did not doubt the authenticity of the content of the letter, and Yu Dayou had no need to lie to him on this matter.

"Master Zhang Zhen must also know about this. I think he is more worried than us at this time. That is, if Zhang Lian appears in the Ming Dynasty again, he will definitely make some arrangements in the court."

Wei Guangde continued.

"You mean, he will tell Mr. Xu Ge secretly?"

King Yu raised his head and glanced at Wei Guangde, wondering why he said that.

Because Emperor Jiajing was not in court, foreign officials wanted to send the news directly to the emperor, but there was no other way except through the cabinet and several ministers.

In other words, if this matter is to be concealed from Emperor Jiajing, there must be someone in the cabinet who can suppress it. As for the other ministers, it is estimated that no one will meddle in other affairs, except the minister of the Ministry of War.

"If this matter spreads, it won't have a big impact on us."

King Yu spoke at this time.

"Mainly, Zhifu will definitely be held responsible, and the others are those who were praised for this battle. In addition, the cabinet and the Ministry of War will definitely be severely punished. By then, Xu Ge will probably not be able to secure his position."

The current official positions of the people in Prince Yu's Palace naturally do not have to bear the consequences of this matter, but it will affect Prince Yu's most powerful force in the court. Even if Yan Song has resigned, Prince Jing has already taken the vassal.

Although after the incident, the possibility that Emperor Jiajing would anger Prince Yu was very small, Wei Guangde was still unwilling to take this risk, so the best solution was to eliminate the matter.

"We can't actually do anything, not even get involved."

King Yu suddenly said.

Wei Guangde nodded, "His Highness is right, but for now, nothing can happen to Mr. Xu Ge."

"What if Mr. Xu Ge doesn't care about Zhang Nian?"

King Yu thought for a while before asking.

"Who is responsible for Mr. Zhang's promotion from governor to admiral of Guangdong and Guangxi? King Yu should know that the cabinet is now discussing letting Mr. Zhang establish the governor's office.

If Zhang Lian had jumped out before the imperial court issued the decree, perhaps the matter would have ended like this. But once the imperial court decreed the reward, Mr. Xu Ge must keep Zhang Nian no matter what he thought.

This is the first big thing he has done since he took over as chief assistant. If something goes wrong, tsk tsk."

Wei Guangde explained to King Yu with a faint smile.

This involves the relationship and face between officials. In the final analysis, it is prestige.

If Xu Jie cannot keep Zhang Zhen, what will the officials who are attached to him think?

Regardless of whether you can save it or not, you must give it a try.

Wei Guangde was certain that Xu Jie would definitely protect people after the incident, and at least he would try his best to give others a thought.

King Yu nodded at this time, acknowledging Wei Guangde's words.

If Yu Dayou's troubles were found out, he would be responsible for not reporting what he knew, but with Zhang Zhen standing in front of him, Yu Dayou could be said to be afraid of being suppressed by the officialdom, so he did not dare to speak out.

When the sky falls, there are tall men who can hold it up. The tall men here are Zhang Zhen and Xu Jie.

Prince Yu's Mansion only needed to take the final step to protect Yu Dayou, and that was at Xu Jie.

King Yu wanted to understand this and knew that Wei Guangde was actually sending him a message to let him know about this.

"Then do you want to talk to Mr. Xu Ge?"

King Yu suddenly had a whim and asked.

"Your Highness, it would be great if we knew about this."

Wei Guangde smiled and said: "Now that Mr. Yan Ge has left, Mr. Xu Ge no longer has a strong opponent in the court. Mr. Xu Ge's attitude towards the palace is also worthy of our observation."

King Yu looked at Wei Guangde, was slightly surprised, then smiled and nodded.

At first, he thought Wei Guangde was just sending him a message, but it seemed he also wanted to remind him, so he also handed him a knife.

Although Xu Gelao and Prince Yu's Mansion have maintained a good alliance for many years, they both faced this powerful opponent and had to join forces to fight.

Now that the enemy has been eliminated, thinking about Yan Song's attitude towards his side, King Yu cannot guarantee that Xu Jie will still be the same as before.

And if Xu Jie really changes in this matter, then with a little design, once he takes action to protect people, he can use this to influence him.

Now King Yu's right-hand men are Gao Gong and Xu Jie respectively. Gao Gong is because of his relationship with King Yu, King Yu almost completely trusts him, and Xu Jie is the power in the court. What King Yu wants to do Almost all need help from Xu Jie.

What does Wei Guangde have?

Even if he lacks King Yu's trust in Gao Gong and does not have Xu Jie's power, then he can only consider everything for King Yu and win King Yu's absolute trust in him.

I thought that Gao Gong might be a short-lived ghost. At that time, when Xu Jie's disciple Zhang Juzheng came to power, there was no telling that King Yu would give the position of chief minister to himself, an absolute direct descendant of Prince Yu's palace.