The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 447 Separation of Power
When Zhang Zhou saw Ning Tong again this time, he found that this woman was much more "honest".

Probably because I have been beaten too much in the patriarchal society. I realized that it is not easy to break out of this patriarchal society. If you want to gain the independence that other women do not have, you need to be attached to someone with a strong background ... This person is obviously Zhang Zhou who can bring her fame and fortune.

Just relying on Zhang Zhou's status as a nominal female disciple, she can freely enter and leave the palace gate, and even suppress the group of big bosses in the Imperial Hospital.

This feeling of gaining the supremacy of power... also began to make Ning Tong understand the rules of the game, and began to play in accordance with the rules of the patriarchal society.

That night.

Zhang Zhou listened to an opera in the theater.

There are no female relatives at home, and it's not interesting after returning. It's better to pass the time in the theater, and he has guests to meet.

Standing beside her was Xiao Changjin, who was thousands of miles away from home, holding a wine jug. When Zhang Zhou finished drinking a glass of wine, she would respectfully fill it up. As for her "aunt" Zhang Lushui, she was singing on the stage below. The song, and there was only Zhang Zhou as a "guest" that day, which was considered an internal performance.

"Master Zhang."

The first person who came to see Zhang Zhou was Yang Peng who had just stepped down as the admiral of the East Factory.

Yang Peng was still a little disappointed, no matter how high his status in the Yumajian was, he still couldn't be compared with the "Dongchang Changgong", but he knew that because he didn't have the status of a eunuch who was in charge of ceremonies, it would be wrong to want to keep advising Dongchang. realistic.

"Eunuch Ning, the younger one has already gone to see him."

The "Eunuch Ning" that Yang Peng mentioned was Ning Jin, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Horse Supervisor. He doesn't seem very confident, who knows if Ning Jin will secretly send someone to do him?
Zhang Zhou pointed to the seat next to him, and Yang Peng sat down.

Xiao Changjin came over and poured Yang Peng a glass of wine.

"Eunuch Yang, you will be the helm of the Yumajian in the future, it will be inconvenient if we meet again," Zhang Zhou said.

Yang Peng lowered his head and did not answer.

Zhang Zhou, as Minister of the Ministry of War, was in charge of the military affairs of the Ming Dynasty among the civil servants, while Yang Peng, as the eunuch in charge of the imperial horse supervisor, belonged to the person in power among the middle officials.

If the two still forcibly connect together, it is tantamount to the internal and external collusion criticized by civil servants.

Zhang Zhou said: "If you have any concerns, just say it."

Yang Peng tentatively said: "I heard that Zhang Yong and Mr. Zhang will return to Beijing soon, but I don't know him..."

The first thing Yang Peng has to consider as the head of the Royal Horse Supervisor is to exclude potential competitors, and Ning Jin, who relies on qualifications and experience alone, and an eunuch trusted by the emperor, is not enough in Yang Peng's opinion. He is more concerned about Zhang Yong, the guardian eunuch who has been very popular on the Nine Sides battlefield in the past few years.

Zhang Zhoudao: "His qualifications are still a little short. It depends on how His Majesty appoints him. It's hard to say."

"Yes, yes." Yang Peng said, "Master Zhang, if you have any orders in the future, just send someone to let me know, and the villain will definitely do his best."

Zhang Zhou shook his head with a smile and said: "Eunuch Yang, you are now the only person in the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and I dare not transfer you casually. You just took over recently, and it is estimated that many people still do not accept you, and you will not have the heart to listen to my orders." work..."

Just as he was talking, Zhang Lvshui downstairs began to sing again.

The singing was mellow, and Zhang Zhou sounded pretty good, then he smiled and said to Yang Peng: "If you're okay, please go ahead, Eunuch Yang."

Yang Peng got up, bowed respectfully and then took his leave.

……

……

Yang Peng left here, and the person who had been eavesdropping next door came over. It was Ning Jin who had just stepped down as the eunuch in charge of the imperial horse supervisor, but was assigned another errand.

Ning Jin's status in the palace is extraordinary. He has won the emperor's trust since he was in Chenghua. He can be regarded as an unstoppable torrent in the palace all the way. It is only because he has nothing to do with Zhang Zhou before... The prison is responsible for the dispatch of the palace guards and the Beijing camp, and does not have frequent communication with civil servants like the ceremonial supervisor.

"Cai Guogong."

Ning Jin also appeared very respectful in front of Zhang Zhou.

This can be regarded as the process by which Zhu Youtang made Zhang Zhou thoroughly familiar with the court system.

Zhu Youtang's trust in Zhongguan has also begun to be compromised, and Zhu Youtang needs Zhang Zhou to understand and understand the operation of the entire imperial palace system and inject vitality into it.

After Zhang Zhou invited Ning Jin to sit down, although Ning Jin was respectful, she was not as humble as Yang Peng. Obviously, Ning Jin had seen too many powerful officials, and she didn't think that she had to be inferior to Zhang Zhou in order to gain status. promotion.

"When is Eunuch Ning leaving?" Zhang Zhouyi beckoned, and the little wine boy Changjin came over to pour wine again.

She looked confused, she didn't think it was a big burden, and she was even listening to Zhang Lvshui's tune with her ears pricked up, hoping to learn those tunes as soon as possible.

Xiao Jang Geum is also a conscientious and studious female student.

Ning Jin said: "I will pay homage to Shengjia early in the morning, and then I will head west, heading all the way to Datong."

After Ning Jin stepped down as the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, he seemed to be unofficial and light-hearted, but in fact he was appointed as "the eunuch guarding Xuanda", and he was to assist Wang Shouren in guarding Xuanda's front-line military affairs.

There are also examples to follow when the imperial horse inspector dispatched the eunuchs to guard the northwest. Just like Wang Zhi, who was in power for a while, he also followed this path. Gain experience and upgrade.

Ning Jin belongs to the "professional" route. In the past, he was more "in politics" and had no chance to practice military affairs.

This time it seems that he was replaced by Yang Peng, but he got the chance to gain military merit. If he can assist Wang Shouren to obtain military merit in the front line of Xuanda, then when he returns to the capital, his status will be far higher than it is now. stable……

The relationship between him and Zhang Zhou is not hostile, or even "mutual use".

Zhang Zhou needs Ning Jin's prestige among the eunuchs to help him stabilize his heart and pave the way for Yang Peng to take over as the eunuch, while Ning Jin himself needs Zhang Zhou's prestige to help him gain military merit.

You know, not everyone is qualified to hang out with Wang Shouren. Now Wang Shouren is Zhang Zhou's "talker" in the towns on the Nine Borders. Everyone feels that if they hang out with Wang Shouren, the credit will fall to their heads. .

"Your Majesty has been worrying about Huo Zai's invasion of the grassland recently. In the past half a month, Huo Zai has sent letters back six times, asking Daming to send troops to cooperate. According to the content of the last two requests for help, he seems to have fallen into a crisis. The little Tartar prince is under siege."

Zhang Zhou said with a smile.

Ning Jin said: "Cai Guogong's intention is to use the soldiers from the northwest to help the fire sieve?"

Zhang Zhou asked, "Eunuch Ning, what's your opinion?"

"Old man..." Ning Jin said cautiously, "I dare not talk about such an important matter casually."

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "It always depends on the situation. For us, the dog bites the dog is the best result. It is the general trend that Huosi was wiped out by the little Tatar prince. His tribe has long since lost its previous vigor. , if we all rely on Da Ming's artillery and firecrackers to assist in the battle, then why use his fire sieve? Da Ming went to fight by himself, why use him?"

Ning Jin said: "Then just sit back and ignore it?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head with a smile and said, "It depends on the decisions of the Trilateral Qin General System, Uncle Xuan Daxin and others. Generals in foreign countries will be ordered or not. Everything depends on the situation."

Ning Jin felt strange.

He was thinking, in the past two years, the strategies of the Nine Sides were not all planned and implemented by you?

Or is it that Huosie's rank is not enough, so you handed over this important decision to rescue Huosie to the generals in the northwest frontier town?
Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "This is also a farewell farewell for Mr. Ning. When you come back, you and I will have a good time here again."

"Thank you, Cai Guogong, for your suggestion." Ning Jin didn't think he got any effective advice from Zhang Zhou.

But there is one thing...

It seemed that Zhang Zhou already possessed the strength to control the eunuchs, and it seemed natural to deal with them.

He originally wanted to evaluate Yang Peng in front of Zhang Zhou, but now he thought that he and Yang Peng had become a direct competitive relationship... Maybe Zhang Zhou, the "superior" just wanted to see him fight Yang Peng in the nest?
What Yang Peng said, I deliberately let him hear it, and encourage him later, let him go to Datong to do a good job...

This is the typical method of those who exercise power.

……

……

Ning Jin left.

The third person to visit was still the eunuch, Chen Kuan, the eunuch of Bingbi, the supervisor of rites.

Chen Kuan is considered an old man in the palace, and he has a high status in the supervisor of ceremonies. If the emperor hadn't suddenly appointed Li Rong again, Chen Kuan would have been the chief eunuch of Bingbi and could supervise the Dongchang... The current Chen Kuan is a little bit more In general.

In front of the cabinet ministers and officials from Hanyuan, Chen Kuan can still maintain a high status, enough to be respected by others, but in front of Zhang Zhou, he seems to lack confidence.

After seeing the ceremony, Chen Kuan took his seat.

Another glass of wine, another conversation.

"This is a handwritten order. Eunuch Chen has a look." Zhang Zhou said, and handed a copy of the emperor's edict to Chen Kuan.

Chen Kuan was quite alert. He first glanced at Xiao Changjin who was standing next to him. He was still curious about how Zhang Zhou entertained guests, so he wanted to find a little girl to stand by. That little girl shouldn't know much.

But when he saw the content of the edict in front of him, he still took a deep breath: "...Order Chen Kuan, the eunuch of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Zhou, the Minister of the Ministry of War, to check and select the strong and strong soldiers from the three major battalions and the miscellaneous sergeants of the guards of the supervision bureaus to make up the regiment. If the number of battalions is insufficient, the old and weak members of the regiment battalion will withdraw and not be used..."

Chen Kuan said: "What does Your Majesty mean?"

This thing is tantamount to a new and old replacement of the three major battalions.

Many people in the Beijing Camp of the Ming Dynasty are already old and faint, and there are many cases of empty pay. The training and combat capabilities of the Beijing Camp are also greatly reduced. Under this premise, if the emperor wants to "conquer himself in person" in the future, it will be as simple as counting on such a group of crooked melons. The Beijing camp soldiers, the result is conceivable.

Without the generals and soldiers at hand, even the best weapons are useless.

Zhang Zhoudao: "For the military households in the Ming Dynasty's capital camp, it is imperative to eliminate the revolution. After many years, if they cannot forge ahead, it may be difficult for His Majesty's five-year plan to bring peace to Mongolia to be realized."

Chen Kuan thought, flat grassland in five years?If this word comes from someone else, it's just to fool the king and earn some political capital. You, Zhang Bingkuan, are going to make drastic reforms.

Don't you know that the reform will touch the interests of many people and suffer backlash?

"Chen Gonggong, my plan is this. If the soldiers in the Beijing camp are not qualified for daily training and combat, and can only complete some of the work of servants, then it is better to let them be attributed to craftsmen. The vacant seats will be filled by soldiers from other places. It may not be necessary to recruit from the surrounding area of ​​the capital, and it is not impossible to dispatch elite soldiers from all over the northwest."

Some of the plans that Zhang Zhou wanted to implement were very similar to the "four foreign families" that Zhu Houzhao later implemented, that is, frontier troops entering the guard.

During the Zhengde period, due to the uprising of Liu Liu and Liu Qi in the Central Plains, the combat capability of the Beijing camp was greatly tested. Zhu Houzhao followed the advice of Qian Ning and others, and dispatched troops from the border towns to the capital, and formed rules from then on. It can be said that the level of guards in the capital has been raised a lot.

If you only guard the so-called "elite" of the Beijing camp without making any changes, and want to use the Beijing camp as the main force to dispatch troops in a few years, Zhang Zhou feels that Ping Prairie can only be confined to fantasy up.

Chen Kuan said: "Cai Guogong, there is no precedent for this."

"Is there a precedent?" Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "Actually, I also want to recruit military households around the capital, but this is not in line with the national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Since the capital has not been able to reach full strength in the past few years, the training of soldiers is also very important. If we can’t achieve the goal of defending the capital, why not dispatch troops from the northwest elite? This is His Majesty’s intention. Eunuch Chen’s task is to assist the Ministry of War to carry out elimination and innovation. As for the details, the Ministry of War will be responsible.”

Chen Kuan frowned and said, "If that's the case, I'm afraid Cai Guogong will encounter a lot of resistance in the future."

"Haha." Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "I'm a tough guy, and I like to meet some challenges. I don't feel comfortable if I don't find something for myself."

After Chen Kuan read the decree, he wanted to push it back, but Zhang Zhou motioned for him to keep it.

"Eunuch Chen, we will work together in the future, please show me some face." Zhang Zhou was still laughing.

Chen Kuan was worried, all he could think of was to go back and discuss with Xiao Jing.

But he also knew that Xiao Jing couldn't challenge Zhang Zhou directly in this kind of matter. Even the eunuch in charge of the chief of ceremonies is no different from the chief assistant of the cabinet... Zhang Zhou's rise means that he has become an eunuch. The most powerful force in the left and right courts, Zhang Zhou has not been defeated in many previous fights, and now it is time for Zhang Zhou to reap his power.

……

……

Chen Kuan left.

Zhang Lushui sang for half the night, and her solo concert was almost coming to an end, and Zhang Zhou sent someone to call her up to pour wine for Zhang Zhou.

Under such an "opportunity", Zhang Lushui can be said to be extremely coquettish, and wants to fully grasp the opportunity to immerse Zhang Zhou in her "gentle hometown".

But just when she started her offensive, a strange man's slightly obscene voice came from the door: "...how did you come to this hellish place? Can't you change to a better place?"

"Shou Ninghou, please forgive me, my father-in-law has been waiting inside for a long time." It was Liu Gui's voice.

Then the door opened.

Here, Zhang Lushui planned to take the initiative to post on Zhang Zhou's body, but when she saw a strange man coming in, she realized that today's big plan of posting the post could not be carried out.

As soon as Zhang Heling came in, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Zhang Lushui but couldn't move his eyes: "I haven't seen this lady before, is she from the Jiaofang Secretary? Interesting... I am Shou Ninghou, this figure... Tsk tsk, it's winter It's just right to warm up with a quilt."

Zhang Lushui had a headache when he heard it.

Although she didn't come to Daming much, she has heard a lot about the "bad deeds" of Marquis Shouning and Uncle Jianchang.

As a smart woman, she is very clear about the returns that political investment can bring. If she can climb up the big tree of Zhang Zhou, then she must be prosperous in the future and get a lot of political convenience... But if Zhang Zhou If the family brother is occupied, it is almost like being raped by a pig. This kind of person will never think of drooling soup for her after eating and wiping it clean.

Zhang Lushui hurriedly stood aside respectfully.

"Sit." Zhang Zhou said.

Only then did Zhang Heling sit down, and Xiao Changjin came over to pour wine.

Zhang Heling said with a smile: "I see, this doesn't seem to be from Daming. I heard that Lao Cai, you have been to North Korea, and the beauties you brought back to North Korea must be them, right?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "First, I have never set foot in North Korea, and second, I am not some old Cai... Shou Ninghou, can we stop casually getting close? I came here to ask you for business."

Zhang Heling said: "Why don't you give me face?"

Zhang Zhou took out a list and said, "The new Martial arts hall will be run by you, Marquis of Shouning."

"What?"

When Zhang Heling heard this, he quickly took the list over, but saw that the ones listed above were all a group of children from aristocratic families who looked like "wine bags and rice bags", and each of them looked so unreliable.

Zhang Zhoudao: "In the future, the Martial Arts Academy will be divided into the Xunchen Class, Military General Class, and Wen Class. As for the first Xunchen Class, you will be the instructor, Marquis Shouning."

Zhang Heling patted the table and said, "I'm here to learn, not to be a teacher."

"Marquis Shou Ning, calm down." Liu Gui who was standing at the door said with a smile.

"You boy, I don't like you. Where did you come from? Believe it or not..." Zhang Heling wanted to hit someone when he saw others laughing in front of him.

Because it would appear disrespectful to him.

Zhang Zhoudao: "This is my disciple, named Liu Gui. Don't look at him as a small person, but he has made great achievements on the battlefield. In the first battle of Weininghai, he cooperated with Uncle Xinjian and charged into battle. Hanyang City in North Korea brought chaos to order. He led The team invaded the Joseon King City, and now there are thousands of Jinyiwei households!"

"What?" When Zhang Heling heard it, the kid next to you looks like a small person, but...is he so awesome?

These words caused quite a shock to Zhang Heling.

And Zhang Lushui next to him suddenly turned his horrified and surprised eyes on Liu Gui.

Before, Zhang Lushui had never really looked at Liu Gui. Even though she knew that the coup in North Korea was related to this group of people, she still felt that Tang Yin should be the first to do it.

Only now did she know that this little guy with a hippie smile turned out to be the capable person who led the team to enter the Joseon Palace, and Jin Yiwei Qianhu's position was not low...

Zhang Lushui's eyes clearly said... I seem to have found a treasure...

Zhang Zhoudao: "Shou Ning Hou has graduated from the Martial Arts Academy. If there is anything you don't understand about teaching, Liu Gui will teach you. You will cooperate more in the future. Liu Gui, come and get close to Shou Ning Hou."

"Little Liu Gui, I have met Marquis Shouning." Liu Gui was still smiling.

Zhang Heling said distressedly: "What about the second child? If you don't ask for anything else, just ask for one. The eldest child of our Zhang family asks for reciprocity, and he will also come to assist me!"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "No problem."

(End of this chapter)