Chapter 1719 Renzijuan returns to Beijing
Feng Ziying and his party returned to Beijing one step ahead of Fang Congzhe and Qi Yongtai.
After learning that He Huchen and the others had successfully blocked the eastward advance of the Xuanfu army at the Yuhe and Gonghua City lines, Feng Ziying knew that the matter was done.
He Huchen's troops would definitely not be able to stop the Xuanfu army, but as long as they bought one day, You Shigong's Jizhen army would arrive. He didn't believe that You Shigong didn't understand the seriousness of this matter.
Although the Xuanfu Army was stronger than You Shigong's Jizhen Army, You Shigong had the same advantage as he had the capital on his back and defended Gonghua City.
The Xuanfu Army did not dare to divide its troops into several groups, which would easily lead to disunity or even encirclement and suppression. After all, this is the home ground of Ji Town, and the Xuanfu Army did not dare to mobilize all the troops to march eastward. They still needed to leave some space for themselves. Way back.
As long as the Xuanfu army cannot open up the situation, the final result will be that they can only be trapped here.
If the imperial court had been more resolute and directly announced that Niu Jizong was rebelling and had evil intentions, then the Xuanfu army might not be able to prevent civil strife.
This depends on how strong Niu Jizong's control is and whether Prince Yi Zhong can make decisive countermeasures.
Feng Ziying is convinced that as long as Prince Yi Zhong cannot make the right countermeasures, the Xuanfu army will fall apart. After all, the generals are willing to follow you, Niu Jizong, to fight for glory and wealth, but the soldiers don't have that much thought.
Thinking that this is a rebellion and that it will be a disaster of confiscating homes and destroying families, how many people are willing to do it?
You, Niu Jizong, are nothing more than a governor of Xuanda. How can you be so virtuous and capable? How dare you rebel against the imperial court?
But if Prince Yi Zhong takes a decisive action and immediately raises a big flag, clearly stating that this is the Zhang family's own heirloom, then the soldiers of the Xuanfu Army will feel much more accepting of it. It is not shabby to follow the deposed prince to start a rebellion. Whether it is the "Battle of Jingnan" or the "Change of Seizing the Gate" in the previous dynasty, there are many in the playbook, and they are familiar to everyone.
After all, the story of the 20-year battle between Prince Yoshitaka and the Emperor is well known to many people. There are even some story-telling novels that explicitly or covertly created stories about previous dynasties. As a metaphor, many ordinary people really like this kind of story.
The prince who has been in power for twenty years is indeed too famous, and Prince Yi Zhong is also very famous in the capital city. This is why Emperor Yonglong still feels pressured ten years after he ascended the throne, and is even more worried about his sons.
However, it seems that Prince Yoshitaka is still reluctant to give up the illusion of directly ascending to the throne, hoping to get the support of civil servants in the DPRK and China, but this is obviously unrealistic.
Don’t even look at who the first and second assistants are? Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe were the leaders of Jiangnan scholars.
Your close relatives Tang Binyin, Miao Changqi, Gu Tianjun, Zhu Guozhen, Jia Jing and others have all established themselves in Nanjing. A group of Jiangnan gentry are also waving flags and making it clear that they want to pull them down and replace them. How can they still fall in love with you? ?
Should we let them, who have been the first and second assistants, become the younger brothers of people like Tang Binyin and Miao Changqi in the future?
Or do you want Tang Binyin and Miao Changqi to help Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe?
Then where does it start from the dragon's power? What's the point? If the people down there don't make a big fuss, your fundamentals will collapse.
In a word, this is an unsolvable contradiction. Ye and Fang would not believe it, Tang, Miao and others could not accept it, and Prince Yi Zhong could not reconcile the two sides.
So Feng Ziying made plans with Chai Ke as soon as she learned that the Xuanfu army was blocked and then wrote a letter to Zhang Huaichang.
The reason why the letter was sent in the name of Feng Ziying was because Chai Ke was now the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and could not get too involved in military affairs. After all, Feng Ziying was a junior and the leader of young scholars in the North. Zhang Huaichang could accept it, and Ye Xianggao and Li Sancai wouldn't care too much.
As long as a blow is given to the Xuanfu army in Yanqing Prefecture, Niu Jizong will be forced to give up his illusions and go south quickly.
In the event that Datong's situation is unfavorable, let him lead his army to join forces with Niu Jizong's Xuanfu army. In addition, if the Chahar people also hook up with Prince Yi Zhong, there is also the potential threat of the White Lotus Sect. How the situation will evolve remains to be seen. Really uncontrollable.
Especially when I learned from my father and Cui Jingrong that the drought in the North is becoming more and more serious, the situation in Shanxi and Shaanxi is very tense. It can be said that the signs of civil rebellion are clearly visible.
If it drags on any longer and Prince Uizada sees what is real and really refuses to go south, he will cause chaos in Gyeonggi. Regardless of whether he can succeed, he just messes up the hinterland of Gyeonggi and then goes south. In the future, if the court wants to recover All of this will be several times more difficult.
Now it's a fight between straw and wolf - two sides are afraid. Feng Ziying doesn't know whether Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe see this, nor does Prince Yi Zhong realize this. However, it is dangerous for both sides if this situation continues.
Prince Yi Zhong's delay in raising the flag will cause dissatisfaction in the Xuanfu army, and may even lead to internal strife. If this continues, once the situation in Datong Town is unfavorable and Prince Yi Zhong chooses an appropriate time to raise the flag, it may cause the entire North The earth is in great turmoil. If the White Lotus Sect takes the opportunity to cause chaos and the Shanshan Civil War breaks out, the situation will be out of control.
Prince Yi Zhong can rely on the support of Jiangnan to force the court to make concessions. Unless Emperor Yonglong wakes up, in the end, the court will have to compromise, which Feng Ziying cannot accept.
"I guess the order from the Ministry of War has arrived at Ji Town. Ziying, are you saying that You Shigong has been prepared for a long time? Have you told him?" Chai Ke looked very relaxed, leaning on the pillow on the side of the carriage, he He took the initiative to take a ride back to the capital city with Feng Ziying.
"As early as last month when I went to Tianjin for inspection, I met You Shilu and asked You Shilu to convey my concerns. When King Zhongshun went to see You Shigong the day before yesterday, I asked someone to bring a letter to You Shigong. Shi Gong, let him prepare in advance. If he knows that the Xuanfu army is coming with bad intentions, then don’t expect him to retreat on his own initiative. If you don’t give him a moment from behind, will he leave on his own initiative?"
Feng Ziying had nothing to hide in front of Chai Ke, and the relationship between the two was unusual.
"Now it depends on what Prince Yi Zhong will do." Chai Ke said with a smile: "I am very curious, what will Prince Yi Zhong do, and how should the court respond? Ziying, if you were Prince Yi Zhong, what would you do? Do?"
Feng Ziying thought for a while and then said: "Declare the supervision of the country on its own, dissolve the cabinet, and promote Tang Binyin, Zhu Guozhen, and Miao Changqi as cabinet ministers. Well, we can also add Qi Shi and Guan Shi to the cabinet, and let Qi Shi be... The second assistant, the official teacher is the cabinet minister."
Chai Ke's expression changed at this, and he said in shock: "Ziying, how did you come up with this trick?"
Tang Binyin, Zhu Guozhen and Miao Changqi are fine, but adding Qi Yongtai and Guan Yingzhen to the mix is a bit sinister.
"Haha, Master Qi and Guanshi will definitely not accept it, but it doesn't matter. Isn't this just dividing and breaking people's hearts? Master Qi is the leader of the scholars in Beidi, and Master Qi and you are the leaders of the scholars in Huguang. As soon as this action comes out, they It doesn't matter if you two don't accept it, but the scholars from the North and the scholars from Huguang below must be muttering in their hearts. Prince Yi Zhong is not bad. At least he values the scholars from the North and the scholars from Huguang more. Who said he only values the scholars from Jiangnan? People? When this idea becomes overactive, the hearts of the people inside will fluctuate. If the action is more ruthless, and the seven departments are directly reorganized, and you are appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel or the Minister of the Ministry of War, I estimate that the scholars in Huguang will definitely cheer for it. They are contemptuous of the imperial court. People have long been grudges,..."
Chai Ke smiled bitterly. Of course he knew that the Huguang scholars were very dissatisfied with the current cabinet and the personnel arrangements of the seven ministries. In the internal gatherings of the Huguang scholars, it was always mentioned that Guan Yingzhen, as the leader of the Huguang scholars, and he were very dissatisfied. It was embarrassing, and they were dissatisfied in their hearts, but the Huguang scholars had always been on the same page as the Beidi scholars, and Qi Yongtai could only be a cabinet minister, so what could they do?
Qi Yongtai also repeatedly warned them to be patient and considerate of the country and the overall situation. They could accept it, but the people below were not happy because it would also affect the development of the entire Huguang scholar community.
"However, Prince Yi Zhong may not be able to succeed." Feng Ziying smiled and said, "He does not dare to do this in the capital. As long as he does this, the imperial court should take decisive measures to capture him. He can only dare to do so." I would dare to do it only if I escape back to Nanjing, but then the influence will be much smaller."
“The imperial court will take measures in case the Supreme Emperor...” Chai Ke thought hard.
Feng Ziying was stunned for a moment, and then thought for a moment, "If the Supreme Emperor is not an old fool, then it is impossible for him to get involved in these things. They are all his sons and grandsons, not to mention getting involved at this age. It is thankless and not cost-effective. "
"I'm just afraid that people will become old and confused." Chai Ke sighed, "But as you said, I don't think Prince Yi Zhong has the courage, unless he gets the permission of the Supreme Emperor."
"Besides doing this, what else can Prince Yi Zhong do?" Chai Ke asked again.
"The only thing that can be done is to go south. Chai Gong, Chen Jixian, why did the court consider him to be the commander-in-chief of Huaiyang Town?" Feng Ziying asked.
Chai Ke hesitated for a moment, shook his head, but there was some exploratory meaning in his eyes, "This was agreed upon by the emperor and the cabinet. This man is like a mystery. It is said that his appointment as the general of the Fifth Military Camp was a compromise between the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor, but what happened? Who compromises with whom is unknown, but I feel like the emperor sometimes trusts him very much, and sometimes feels a little uneasy, so he can't see clearly, and finally let him go to Huaiyang Town. I'm afraid he still feels that the Beijing camp needs to be absolutely reliable. .”
I still don’t understand Chen Jixian’s background. Even Feng Ziying admires this old friend’s father. He can make everyone confused about his background. He is really a character.
But now once Prince Yi Zhong really raises the flag, Chen Jixian's Huaiyang Town will be in a crucial position. If Xuzhou is going to attack, he will bring his direct lineage with him completely. His attitude will directly determine the future trend. .
(End of this chapter)