The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 322 An Nei
Zhang Zhou returned to the court, but he didn't appear in any public places, and he didn't even go to places like the Ministry of War, the Governor's Mansion, and the Imperial Academy.

This has caused a lot of discussion in the court.

More importantly, the imperial court in the capital is still waiting for an answer on whether to send troops to assist the three guards of Duoyan. This is very concerned.

As a result, Zhang Zhou came back... It was as if this incident had never happened. The emperor neither said to help, nor said that he would not help.

Before the morning court that day, a group of people gathered around Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng to get the answer.

"Whether to send troops, you must give a letter of approval, right?" Fu Han, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, asked the question on behalf of the officials present.

Liu Jian shook his head.

Probably on the issue of whether to send troops or not, the cabinet can do nothing about it.

Xie Qian said jokingly: "Your Majesty intends to deploy in Liaodong, so it probably means not sending troops?"

Qin Minyue, the right servant of the Ministry of Officials, said: "It's all deployed in Liaodong, and there is no intention to send troops? Zhang Bingkuan has not shown up so far. What is the meaning? Could it be that he has left the capital to go to Liaodong?"

"No way?"

Xu Qiong, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, did not take this seriously.

When Zhang Zhou returned to the capital, he had served so many officials, and it seemed that all of them were lacking in real positions. So Zhang Zhou was sent to Liaodong again like this?

Li Dongyang said: "You will think so, the Tatar may also have the same idea, without his voice at this time, do you think that the strange voice in the court is not harsh enough?"

"hiss……"

Someone in the crowd took a deep breath.

Li Dongyang obviously meant to satirize the people present.

what?Zhang Zhou didn't come out to take over so many of his official positions, and he didn't call the wind and rain in the court. Do you feel uncomfortable without competitors?If you really want him to come out and stir up the pool of water in the capital, you will feel comfortable, right?
Xie Qian said with a smile: "I think, maybe what you mean is that the unresolved is the most worrying thing. He doesn't have much experience as an official. Even if he enters the court, how many disturbances can he cause?"

Li Dongyang and Xie Qian, one who sings the red face and the other who sings the bad face, must be the red face and the white face. Anyway, they use this way of fighting each other to maintain the independence of the cabinet.

Xu Qiong also laughed and said, "What Yu Qiao said is absolutely true."

Did we feel uncomfortable because Zhang Zhou didn't make a move?

We clearly felt that Zhang Zhou should come out sooner. We had long wanted to compete with him in court on how to be an official and participate in decision-making.

Liu Jian said indifferently: "If you have any thoughts on the use of troops in the north, you can ask the court today. If you don't want to ask, I will ask for you!"

This is the final word.

Some things always need a definite answer. You ordinary ministers like to put pressure on others with your mouth, but you don't want to go into battle yourself. As the chief assistant, you will not stand idly by.

……

……

Chaotang.

What was discussed that day was still the autumn grain collection and other matters. It involved the issue of border storage. First, there were several memorials to the Ministry of Households, all of which were to balance the disaster situation in various places and increase and exempt local taxes as much as possible. .

Zhou Jingdao: "There are constant droughts in the north, but there are floods in the south. After the droughts, locust plagues often appear. If we don't store food in various parts of the north in advance, when the disaster is severe, it will be useless to raise funds for the displaced people."

The emperor's intention was to transfer the grain collected from various places to the northwest, directly skipping the Beijing storage.

But now the court's intention is to protect the people's livelihood. As for those aggressive strategies, especially those involving the flattening of the grasslands within a few years... the courtiers and Chinese officials felt that it was nonsense. They didn't want to cooperate with the emperor's plans for the next few years. policy.

Zhu Youtang didn't seem to want to force it.

He didn't even bother to comment, and waved his hand to hurry up to the next topic.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Liu Jian quickly asked the questions he had prepared before, and asked actively: "Your Majesty, the three guards of Duoyan were invaded by the little Tatar prince eastward. Please use the imperial court to send troops. This matter has been delayed for half a month. Now The war situation in the north is uncertain, or it may threaten the stability of Jiliao, please Your Majesty to make a decision on this matter as soon as possible."

Liu Jian has also learned to be smart.

Don't ask the emperor to discuss the matter publicly, just let the emperor decide quickly, meaning who you love, if you want to send troops, then make a decision quickly, and if you don't want to send troops, let us give up.

As for whether, as Li Dongyang predicted, half of the troops would be dispatched to scare Batu Monk away, and the two sides would end peacefully, then we will admit it.

Zhu Youtang said: "When did I say that I would send troops to assist the Duoyan Sanwei who have never followed the way of kingship and obeyed the etiquette of monarchs and ministers? At the beginning of the year, they invaded the border twice, you and your family will not forget, right?"

That is... not to send troops?

The ministers present pondered for a moment.

It doesn't fit Zhang Zhou's character.

Liu Jian asked for instructions again: "Now Liaodong has changed from the governor of the capital, the censor, to the guarding middle officer, the general officer, and the generals. If the Tatar invades the border at this time, I am afraid that the generals will be at odds. Your Excellency please We will postpone the discussion on the governor of Liaodong capital, the censor, and the change of the chief military officer and guarding middle officials."

This is testing the attitude of the emperor.

If the emperor insists on changing at this time, it means that he wants to take action in Liaodong, and Zhang Zhou is likely to be arranged to Liaodong.

If the emperor also said that this matter can be postponed, it means that the emperor is not very concerned about the affairs of Liaodong.

Zhu Youtang said: "Hasn't all the candidates for the Governor of Liaodong been delineated among the three? I asked Bingkuan for his opinion, and he thought that among the three, it is most suitable for the Shaanxi Province to supervise the censor Lu Wan. The Zhongguan was initially determined to be Zhang Yong, who had made achievements in the Pianguan and other battles before, and as for the commander in chief of Zhenliao... I will think about it again."

"His Majesty……"

Of course Liu Jian objected.

Especially when it comes to the candidate that the emperor expressly stated was decided by Zhang Zhou, can the minister accept it?
Except for Qin Hong on the three sides and the governors under him who are not Zhang Zhou's people, now Xuanda to Ji Liao are almost all taken care of by people from Zhang Zhou's influence, although many people don't know what the origin of this Lu Wan is, But they felt that the more unknown a person was, the more he belonged to Zhang Zhou.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

Zhu Youtang asked: "Don't you gentlemen, have a better understanding of the current situation in Liaodong? Do you have a prediction of the Tatar's next move, or do you have a deep insight into the dispatch of troops and defense? If anyone really has a good point of view, I can also adopt it."

The implication is that you are inferior to Zhang Zhou in terms of military use, so you still oppose the people recommended by Zhang Zhou?

Just a very simple matter, can you have an accurate judgment on whether Batu Monk can annex Duoyan Sanwei?Shut up if not.

Liu Jian said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Zhou, the left servant of the Ministry of War, also wants to participate in the layout of Liaodong's military affairs?"

Zhu Youtang shook his head and said, "Isn't Bingkuan in the capital?"

"Then he..." Liu Jian only spoke.

Wait for the emperor to answer him.

Zhu Youtang said: "I just learned that Bingkuan was sick after returning to the capital because of the exhaustion of the journey. He is not yet able to attend the court deliberations. Let him rest for a few days."

sick?

The first thought of most of the ministers present is that this guy can also get sick?

Doesn't he call himself a half-immortal?Now that you are sick, you don't dare to call yourself a half-immortal anymore, right?
But looking at the emperor's expression, it seemed that Zhang Zhou was not nervous at all when it came to Zhang Zhou's illness, as if the emperor was lying for Zhang Zhou.

But the emperor gave the answer, and the ministers can't say anything more, unless they insist on saying... We suspect that Zhang Bingkuan is pretending to be sick, and please investigate carefully... This is asking for trouble for ourselves.

……

……

After the court meeting ended.

When the ministers left the palace, they were in a good mood.

"I never thought that Zhang Bingkuan would still get sick? But he said he was not made of iron? I thought he could fly into the sky and escape from the ground, and he was proficient in the art of ghosts and gods!"

Just because others say that doesn't mean they really believe it, but they use it to amuse Zhang Zhou.

Probably just want to pull Zhang Zhou down from the altar.

Zhou Jing intentionally kept his voice open, and asked Ma Wensheng who was beside him, "Has he never been to the Ministry of War since he returned to Beijing?"

Ma Wensheng shook his head.

Needless to say, the ministers returned to the matter they suspected when they entered the palace, and Zhang Zhou suddenly couldn't hide. Could it be possible that he was involved in Liaodong's plan?Could it be that Zhang Zhou sent troops secretly again?

Zhou Jing looked around at the people present and said, "That's why we should send someone to investigate."

Li Dongyang was about to part ways with these officials who were leaving the palace, and he heard the words and said: "Take care and do more things, Your Majesty will not ask, I will ask him if he is sick, what's the point? And delayed the affairs of the DPRK and China? Does it really have such a big influence on you if there is him in the DPRK?"

Of course it has an impact. We have knots in our hearts and feel uncomfortable doing anything.

I thought so in my heart, but this group of people couldn't say it out of their mouths.

Zhou Jing said with a smile: "If you don't ask, then don't ask. Sooner or later, there will be an answer, right? It means that the affairs of the Ministry of War will be more onerous, and one less Zhang Bingkuan... It really doesn't affect us. Let's go!"

……

……

Zhang Zhou was indeed not pretending to be sick.

It is true that his health is not very good. On the way back to the capital, he caught a bit of a cold because of rushing, and he may have been infected by Zhu Youtang when he met Zhu Youtang.

In short, he is not a half-immortal, and he has already made it clear to the emperor that he only knows how to calculate the number of days. In addition, he said that he will not be sick, but it will have a certain impact on the situation in Tatar and Liaodong. , it will make outsiders guess what kind of tricks he might have...

The main reason was the surprise attack on Weining Sea, which had too much impact on the grassland situation.

A surprise attack on the Weining Sea completely subdued Huozhai, who was invincible on the grassland, and even Dayan Khan's plan to deal with the Mongolian right wing fell through.

This time he claimed that he would not be sick, and spread the news to the outside world. Even if Dayan Khan would not cancel his plan to annex Duoyan Sanwei because of this, he would probably be shocked when he heard about it. Whether Zhang Zhou was really sick or not. Pretend to be sick, or Zhang Zhou arranged some sensational plan... Not to mention Dayan Khan, even Duoyan Sanwei probably had to drink a pot.

Who knows if Zhang Zhou will advise the emperor that Daming wants to take advantage of the fire?

In the past few days, Zhang Zhou has to recuperate from his illness.

The second is to prepare to marry Lin Yi.

The third is to discuss with the emperor who will be the commander-in-chief of Liaodong... But the person the emperor prefers, or the person Zhang Zhou wants the emperor to favor, is the very inconspicuous Shouning Hou Zhang Heling.

Not for anything else, but because Zhang Zhou's plan for the future military of Ming Dynasty, there will be no incidents in Liaodong in a short time.

And transferring Zhang Heling to Liaodong is more about cutting off the wings around Queen Zhang. As long as Queen Zhang doesn't have these two brothers to help her, this woman will be like a bird without wings in the palace, unable to flutter even if she wants to.

Zhang Zhou went to see Lin Han that day.

The place I saw was a mansion that the emperor was about to bestow on Lin Han. It was not a big place, just a courtyard with a backyard, but it was an industry that many officials would not be able to get in if they were officials in the capital for half their lives. The reward to be given to Lin Han is mainly because of his relationship with Zhang Zhou, who is about to become an in-law.

Love the house and Wu.

Zhang Zhou accompanied Lin Han to see the new courtyard, and Xiao Jing accompanied him. In name, Xiao Jing was the one who rewarded the courtyard on behalf of the emperor.

After arriving at the place and looking around, Lin Han was naturally satisfied with the environment here.

"How does Elder Lin feel?" Xiao Jing asked with a smile on the side.

Lin Han was satisfied in his heart, but he couldn't say it clearly, especially since he knew that he didn't earn it by his ability, and it seemed that he got it because of his future son-in-law. The official office is very good."

Xiao Jing smiled and said: "You can still live there, but you have so many family members, it's inconvenient to live together, you see it's also close to the public house, you usually only walk a few hundred steps when you come and go, You can even save the money for hiring a sedan chair. In such a big place, there is no problem at all for more than [-] people.”

"Oh!" Lin Han sighed.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "If Mr. Lin is not satisfied, let Eunuch Xiao choose for you."

Lin Han rolled his eyes at Zhang Zhou, and wondered, "Aren't you ignorant of the rules?" The emperor rewarded us, and we can still pick and choose?

"Eunuch Xiao, why don't you let me talk to Lin Laoduo, so you can avoid it first?" Zhang Zhou said.

"Uh……"

Not to mention that Xiao Jing was not used to it, even Lin Han felt that Zhang Zhou's request was too much.

The emperor sent Dongchang Changgong to come, and you actually let a powerful person avoid him?Are you really floating?
"Okay. Okay." After hesitating for a while, Xiao Jing was very sensible and left space for the two of them.

……

……

"Bingkuan, I'm afraid it's unnatural for you to do this. Eunuch Xiao has a great reputation in the government and the public, and even the cabinet ministers have to give him some face." Lin Han preached to Zhang Zhou as a teacher.

Zhang Zhou thought to himself, you old man Lin is addicted to being an old professor.

How do I get along with the eunuchs in the palace? That's my business. I need you to get involved?

Zhang Zhou smiled and asked: "Then Lin Shilang, you might as well guess, what can I tell you, but must let Eunuch Xiao avoid it?"

"It's... hard to say." Lin Han's face was wrinkled, but he seemed to be lost in thought.

Zhang Zhou said: "Old Lin, but it's okay to say."

Lin Han frowned and said, "Bingkuan, the rumors about you from the ruling and opposition parties are becoming more and more serious. There are so many right and wrong. You need to face it. Even if you go to the Ministry of War to show your face, it will dispel a lot of doubts. .What you want to tell the old man is not this, right?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head very seriously: "That's not true. When it comes to official affairs, I don't need to let Eunuch Xiao avoid him. After all, he represents His Majesty. I just want to talk to Mr. Lin about private matters, and about the wedding date with Lingmei. Your Majesty urged , it's better...to be quicker."

Lin Han suddenly couldn't adapt to Zhang Zhou's speaking style.

He also wanted to ask, is it necessary to avoid Xiao Jing in marriage?Doesn't he represent the emperor?So what if you let him know?

Zhang Zhou was still cheerful, and said with a smile: "Lin Shilang knows what Eunuch Xiao cares most about recently?"

Lin Han stopped guessing this time, and just shook his head to express his ignorance.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Recently, Eunuch Dai, the chief inspector of ceremonies, is going to be arranged by His Majesty to live idle with his salary. The seat of the palm seal is empty, and several people below are fighting. Do you know why I sometimes don't want to get too close to him?"

"Oh?" Lin Han frowned.

"Does Lin Shilang know why he needs to come down to see the yard today, and why there is such an embarrassing... three-person combination today?" Zhang Zhou continued to ask.

"Let's make it clear at once." Lin Han said impatiently.

As a teacher, I hate others playing charades the most, and I am the one who preaches. Why am I an old guy now, and I need you to teach here?
In fact, Zhang Zhou didn't mean to say that, because he himself... also did this in his previous life.

To put it bluntly, talking too much, and like to influence other people's thoughts in your own way, this is a common problem of teachers.

"Because Eunuch Xiao not only wants to get the position of the Supervisor of Rituals, but also wants to leave the position of Admiral Dongchang in the hands of someone he relies on." Zhang Zhou said, "He wants to take this opportunity to talk to me about something."

"Who? I mean, who does he want to admiral Dongchang?" Lin Han also became interested.

In the past, I was just a teacher, and I had no chance to get in touch with the core when I was an official in the court. Now I have a few words with this future son-in-law, and I instantly feel that I am tall, and I can even find out the most secret things in the court.

Zhang Zhou smiled and shook his head: "I don't know. Where can I find out the direct descendants of these internal officials?"

Lin Han frowned again.

He felt that Zhang Zhou was going around in circles with him.

Zhang Zhoudao: "I will not let Eunuch Xiao do what he wants, because from my point of view, I don't want to see him rise, I hope to see others can check and balance with him."

"You..." Lin Han said, "How can you be so confident? How dare you even ask questions about middle officials?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head very seriously: "Because I know that even if there are small grievances and grievances in the relationship between me and the emperor and ministers in the court, I can maintain a balance. The leading middle-ranking official flattered me and subdued me. But if this Eunuch Xiao is allowed to take the position, he will not be satisfied with just being my right-hand man."

Lin Han said, "So, you regard him as an enemy?"

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "You can also say that, because in his eyes, the future of Daming is not on me, but on Mr. Liu Ge and the others. This is also something I have to guard against in the future. What about military affairs, Tatars, Liaodong, the three sides... ... Anne, that is, gaining a foothold in the ruling and opposition parties, is more important than anything else."

(End of this chapter)