Jinyi Night Walk

Among the great governors who sit in the governor's mansion of the five armies, there are three princes, namely Qiu Fu, Duke of Qi, Zhu Neng, Duke of Cheng, and Xu Jingchang, Duke of Ding.As the saying goes, if you beat a dog to see its master, there are three heavyweight figures who are the masters of the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion.

But Xia Xun not only moved, but also flogged him, relegated him, and counterattacked like thunder. This is on the premise that everyone believes that the Five Armies Commander's Mansion was just an unintentional mistake, and the image of a harmless old man Xia Xun immediately jumped into the eyes of all parties in the political arena.

Only then did they realize that Duke Fu actually possessed such great energy, was so powerful, and Sheng Chong was so solemn. No one dared to underestimate this seemingly lonely and helpless figure in the political arena anymore. In fact, Xia Xun is no longer alone at this time, because he has done one more high-profile thing: Treat guests!

Treating guests is nothing in itself, the dignitaries in Beijing will treat them from time to time, but Xia Xun treats guests, inviting so many important court officials who stomp their feet and tremble in all directions at once, it is not only It's as simple as a treat. This is a bright sword. Fu Guogong, who has always upheld the doctrine of the mean, has finally shown his glory.

Xia Xun invited guests under the guise of returning to Beijing. He was welcomed by his colleagues, and today he formally thanked him.

The reason Xia Xun was so high-profile was that he had already vaguely figured out what Emperor Yongle was thinking. The emperor's relegation to the five armies' governor's mansion, and his open sidelines were to support him in establishing his own power.

Zhu Di was neither the founding king who overthrew the previous dynasty, nor the emperor who justifiably inherited the great rule, so his way of establishing a new regime was also different from others. He directly seized the top of the pyramid of power to control the whole country. It is impossible and impossible to carry out a complete shake-up of the entire regime.

Even though Jianwen's old ministers seemed powerless to resist under the bloody cleansing, this was just their temporary forbearance. When the political situation stabilized and they were unwilling to support Zhu Di's old forces, they would gradually launch a counterattack.The method of counterattack may not be a clear-cut confrontation. As long as he is passive, stumbling and using insidious tricks, this kind of internal friction is unbearable, especially for an ambitious person like Zhu Di who wants to do something big.

Of course, the old ministers may not be unwilling to submit to the new emperor, but the emperor does not have thousands of hands and eyes. If he investigates and tests one by one until he confirms their support, it will take a long time. For Zhu Di who wants to do something big , this is also not something he can wait for.

Therefore, Emperor Yongle needs to cultivate new forces, the forces of the confidants of the Beiping Clan!The emperor wants to manage the world, and he cannot do everything by himself. He needs some powerful officials to share his responsibilities. He is a towering tree, and all kinds of intertwined forces are his branches and roots. Going down, those low-level officials The local officials are the branches, leaves and roots. He needs to use new branches and roots to gradually replace the roots and branches of the old dynasty.

Xia Xun's object of confrontation this time is also the heroes of the Beiping family. It doesn't matter. The emperor is only afraid that the courtiers will not do things, and he is not afraid of the confrontation and competition between the courtiers. , and now the most numerous officials in the court are the officials of the old dynasty. A large part of them will inevitably be won over and absorbed by the few ministers he favors in this kind of competition, and the power of the old dynasty will gradually disintegrate and die out.

And if there is competition among these confidants, they will try their best to be loyal to him and work hard for him. After all, everyone's power comes from him.It is impossible for everyone to be harmonious, and it is also the most dangerous. Proper faction competition can only benefit the emperor.

As for the possible loss of control, Zhu Di is not worried. He is strong and confident. With his mediation and balance, he can ensure that everything develops in a healthy and positive direction.If someone deviates from the rules of the game he established and endangers his rule, he will naturally take action to kill this dangerous situation.

In his eyes, the whole world is a game of chess, everyone is a piece on the board, and it is he, the chess player, who controls the whole game and the fate of each piece.After figuring this out, Xia Xun became unscrupulous.

The lineup of people Xia Xun invited to the banquet was too large, enough to attract the attention of civil and military officials from all courts.

As for honorable relatives, there are two sons-in-law, Wang Ning and Mei Yin; as for meritorious officials, there are Cao Guogong Li Jinglong and Dingguo Gong Xu Jingchang; He has officially been branded as Duke Fu, and it is also the first time he has allowed his own people to appear in front of courtiers, which is also a form of cultivation in disguise.

In terms of civil servants, there are Xie Jin, Minister of the Ministry of War, Ru Chang, Minister of the Ministry of War, Wang Dun, Minister of the Ministry of Households, Zheng Ci, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Zhang Shen, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Huang Ligong, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Mao Taiheng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Chen Ying, Deputy Minister of Zuo Du The imperial envoy Wu Youdao, the imperial censor Yin Changlong, Huang Zhen, and in addition, Liu Yujue, the governor of Jinyiwei Nanzhen.

From the composition of these personnel, it can be seen that Jianwen's former ministers still hold most of the power in the court. If Zhu Di does not build a few mountains of his own, and then let these mountain kings recruit soldiers and win over the former ministers, the only choice for these former ministers is to They are hugging together, which is obviously not good for Zhu Di.

Three tables were set up for the banquet, and the tables were full of delicacies.The table on the left has the fewest people, because Chen Ying is sitting at this table.Although the political cleansing after Emperor Yongle ascended the throne has ended, the follow-up processing has not yet been completely completed, so Chen Ying and Ji Gang are still the focus of the entire court, and their every move is still touching the nerves of many people.

On this point, even Xia Xun, who won a big victory with the five-army governor's mansion, can't compare. After all, no matter how powerful Xia Xun is, he will fight back if you provoke him, and Chen Ying and Ji Gang is like a pair of mad dogs, who may bite anyone. A word you say unintentionally may be a crime in his ears, so everyone avoids him subconsciously.

Sitting with him were the deputy capital imperial envoy Wu Youdao, the imperial censor Yin Changlong, and Huang Zhen. They were all from the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Of course, they couldn't be far away from their immediate superiors. In addition, Xu Hu, Ren Juying, and Wang Yuxia.Chen Ying sat at the head of the table, and on his right hand sat a handsome and gentle young man in white robes, that was Jin Yiwei Nan Zhenfu Liu Yujue, while his left hand was temporarily vacant.

The guests and hosts were having a good time, just as the cups were being raised, the old butler suddenly called out at the door: "The Commander of Jin Yiwei has envoy Ji Gangji to come~~"

With this shout, the hall immediately fell silent, there is no way, Ji Gang is notorious now, don’t look at the many princes and first and second ranks sitting in the hall, and the commander of the Jinyiwei, who is the third rank, heard his name, I was really apprehensive.

"The humble staff was busy with an errand, so I came a step late, the Duke forgives the sin, forgives the sin!"

Ji Gang walked in with a smile on his face, first he cupped his fists to plead guilty to Xia Xun, and then saluted all the princes, sons-in-law, and all the ministries. People with higher rank than him nodded their heads, and those at the same level or lower than him all followed suit. Standing up to greet him, even several servants who were one level higher than Ji Gang stood up subconsciously.When Ji Gang came, it really had a head start.

Xia Xunan couldn't sit still, and said with a calm smile: "Ji Gang, you are not late at 01:30, I treat you to a drink, and you dare to be late, you will punish yourself with three drinks first!"

Imperial envoy Chen Ying and Ji Gang had similar smells, and they had a very good temper. When he saw Ji Gang arrived, he waved with a smile on his face and said, "Master Ji, sit here, sit here, a seat has been reserved for you a long time ago."

At Xia Xun's table, the ones sitting were either the Duke, the son-in-law, or the first-class minister. There was really no place for him, Ji Gang, so Ji Gang walked up to Chen Ying, asked someone to fetch a glass, filled three glasses of wine, and said with a hearty smile : "Today, Duke Fu invited you to drink, but the humble official came late, so he was punished. Ji Gang punished himself with three cups, and pleaded guilty to the Duke."

After finishing speaking, he drank up the three glasses of wine one by one, hugged his fists to everyone, and then sat down.Chen Ying grinned and said: "Master Ji, what case is so important that even Duke Fu's banquet has to be delayed?"

Ji Gang took a mouthful of food, wiped his mouth and said: "It's nothing, it's just a prison sentence. I don't need to go to prison to execute a prisoner, but this person is a criminal. The emperor personally issued an order. How dare Ji be careless? Otherwise, Ji Gang will have to let go of even the most important matter when the Lord Fuguo summons him."

Sentence?

Xia Xun was taken aback secretly. The capital has calmed down these days. Who is this going against?He hurriedly asked: "The emperor has executed someone. If you want your majestic commander to imprison him personally, I'm afraid this official will be too small."

Everyone also stopped to listen, and Ji Gang laughed and said, "Except for that daring Tie Xuan who dared to use the throne of Emperor Gao as a shield to desecrate the spirit of Taizu in heaven, who else is there?"

After hearing the commotion among the crowd, Xia Xun hurriedly asked, "Has Tie Xuan been arrested? How did the emperor deal with it?"

When Xia Xun asked, everyone turned their ears to the side, and Ji Gang said triumphantly, "The emperor is already in control, but Tie Xuan still wants to resist, trying to hold on to the city, hehe, it's a pity, he can't command this time." Jinan soldiers and horses, as soon as the court's decree came, Tie Xuan was captured without a fight.

As a subject, this person dared to use the Emperor Taizu's spiritual throne to resist artillery fire. He was extremely rebellious and immoral. According to me, it is not too much to punish his nine clans.Unfortunately, the emperor only ordered Tie Xuan to be escorted to the execution ground for Ming Zheng's punishment.His wife committed suicide by throwing herself into a well when Tie Xuan was arrested. Only his parents Gaotang and two sons remained in the family. His parents were exiled in Hainan, and the eldest son was assigned to guard Hechi. enslaved. "

Xia Xun couldn't help sighing slightly when he thought of the past when he went to the East China Sea with Tie Xuan to fight against the bandits.However, he wasn't too touched.The difference in status makes him no longer think about issues from the standpoint of a bystander who stays out of the matter and talks about morality. He can see the essence of things more clearly. With the advent of the new era, the old forces will inevitably perish. This is not a child. Playing house, you can just drive him away, or exclude him from your game team, either submit or die, there is no middle line.

Chen Ying also shook her head and sighed, but his sigh was not the same as Xia Xun's.He made a career out of manipulating people, and the more people he punished, the more powerful he would be. Now that Tie Xuan had been awarded the title, it seemed that "heroes would be useless", Master Chen was very disappointed.

Ji Gang ate a few mouthfuls of food, swallowed the three cups of spirits he drank in one breath, then filled another cup, got up and came to Xia Xun's table, and said with a smile: "Ji Gang is late, today I will borrow flowers to present Buddha, and I will borrow Fu Guo The Duke's wine, to the Duke of Fuguo, all the princes, sons-in-law and ministers have a drink."

Everyone ate the wine, Xia Xun's eyes flashed slightly, he picked up a plate, put a piece of eye meat on the big carp weighing more than 20 jins on the table, and handed it to Ji Gang, smiling authentically : "This was sent from Kaifeng two days ago by His Royal Highness King Zhou. You can try the authentic big carp of the Yellow River."

Ji Gang was flattered, and quickly took it with both hands. Xia Xun suddenly slapped his forehead and said with a smile: "Look at my memory, I almost forgot what I promised. I just don't know where to start, you came at the right time, your Jinyiwei has great powers, so I should find out, but I don't know if this matter belongs to your Jinyiwei."

Ji Gang hurriedly said: "The business of the Duke is a matter of low office, the Duke just orders it down."

Chen Ying, who had no case or dislike, pricked up her ears vigilantly when she heard it.

Xia Xun waved his hand, and the servant hurriedly brought over a stool, and Ji Gang sat sideways on his buttocks. Xia Xun said slowly: "That's what happened. After His Royal Highness King Zhou returned to the feudal kingdom, he sent someone to arrest a few people. The big carp of the Yellow River, please my country's father to taste something fresh. The little official of the prince's mansion who undertook this matter went to his hometown Kaocheng, and after catching fresh fish, he put it in a wooden barrel and brought it to me quickly.

When he brought the fish, he mentioned one incident. He said that two months ago, the Yellow River broke its embankment, Kaocheng was flooded, and the local people were severely affected. The gentry wrote to the court to request the exemption of the two taxes this autumn. , and borrowed rice from the government.

But now more than two months have passed, and there is no news from the imperial court. There are countless hungry people in the local area, and they have to abandon their homes and wander around begging for a living.The gentry questioned him, and the magistrate of Kaocheng said that he had written to the imperial court to report the disaster situation, and had repeatedly asked the state government office about it, but he had no way of knowing why the imperial court did not reply.

I don’t know which part of the business is late. I asked Mr. Mu in the inner study yesterday, and Mr. Mu checked it. The inner study has not received a memorial from the magistrate of the city in the past few months. I can't always ask the emperor, this matter is related to the national economy and the people's livelihood, but it cannot be neglected. "

Speaking of this, Xia Xun sighed, and said with compassion: "I'm waiting here to spend time and wine, delicious food, and enjoy the people's fat and people's cream. I don't forget the well diggers when I drink water. How can I care about the life and death of the people. Help if you can." , I just wonder if Jin Yiwei can help with the investigation, it’s almost winter, if you delay for one more day, the common people will suffer for one more day!”

Ru Chang twirled his beard, glanced at Xia Xun quickly, and thought, "Someone is going to be unlucky, but who offended Duke Fu again."

When Ji Gang heard this, he lifted his buttocks. He leaned back just now, and before he could answer, the imperial envoy Chen Ying jumped up impatiently as if he smelled a bloody fly: "Is there such a thing? The next official is the Metropolitan Procuratorate." Sir, how can you ignore this matter, please rest assured, please leave this matter to the subordinate officials, and the subordinate officials will definitely investigate it clearly and clearly!”! ~!