Chapter 1731 Renzijuan has no choice but to make plans
Heaving a long breath, Ye Xianggao rubbed his cheeks, and then said leisurely: "It seems that we old people don't see things as thoroughly and realistically as young people like Ziying, and we still comfort ourselves all day long. I always feel that some things will not happen, some situations will not be so bad, and some problems can be solved, but what about the reality? Haha, I am afraid it is much worse than our worst predictions. This is not an illusion, but an imminent fact. .”
Ye Xianggao's frank admission shocked Fang Congzhe and Qi Yongtai. It meant that the chief minister recognized and accepted Feng Ziying's predictions and assessments. The situation was really so bad. Feng Ziying's predictions Is it really going to come true?
Seeing that everyone was in shock and confusion, Ye Xianggao sighed, "Prince Yi Zhong came to me a few days ago and openly expressed his wish to supervise the country, but I flatly refused..."
"He seemed very calm after rejecting it. At that time, I thought he would go to the Supreme Emperor to put pressure, so I was worried for a while, but now it seems that he should have gone to the Supreme Emperor first, but failed to get the result, so The peace at that time should be that I made up my mind to leave Nanxia..."
“He is very confident. We are not sure we will agree, but he is equally confident. His confidence does not come from Niu Jizong’s Xuanfu Army, but from more reliance on him. We underestimated his determination and strength,..."
A few people looked at each other, and Li Sancai couldn't help but said: "But the Xuanfu army was still fighting fiercely with the Jizhen army at that time."
"A fierce battle may be just a feint shot or a feint attack. It's hard to explain the problem." Ye Xianggao shook his head, "In this situation, Prince Yi Zhong can only go south. I am really worried now that if Prince Yi Zhong sets up his own country to supervise the country, We even established the Cabinet and the Seventh Ministry under the umbrella of the Seventh Ministry in Nanjing, so what should we do?"
"Then what else can we do? We can only declare him a traitor and immediately send troops to conquer him. If there is even the slightest hesitation, the court will lose all its prestige and the country will be ruined!" Qi Yongtai said categorically: "No matter how difficult it is, how great it is. All obstacles must be like this. The Great Zhou Dynasty cannot turn into a chaotic situation like the Southern and Northern Dynasties, which will only give the Mongols and Jurchens in the north an opportunity to take advantage of it, and even become a repeat of the Mongolian and Yuan era!"
Qi Yongtai's words are indeed shocking, but if the northern region was not ruled by the Liao and Jin Dynasties during the Song Dynasty, which made the Han government extremely weak, the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties would eventually be swept away and the country would sink.
Now if the Great Zhou Dynasty becomes a long-term confrontation between the north and the south, can the north withstand the invasion of the Jurchens and Mongols? Once the northern land falls and the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, will Jiangnan still be at peace? It's impossible even if you think about it.
“Brother Chengfeng is right, there must be no ambiguity in the face of such great matters of right and wrong. If we are hesitant, I’m afraid someone in the court will take the opportunity to confuse the public with monstrous words and deceive people’s hearts, causing catastrophe.”
Li Sancai also looked particularly determined at this time, which made Qi Yongtai look at him.
He has always disliked this guy who was born in the North but had a close relationship with the Jiangnan scholars. Moreover, this person also got too close to the emperor and seemed to be playing both sides. This also made many scholars criticize him.
But today’s statement by this person makes people feel much better. At least he does not have an unstable position on issues related to the life and death of the imperial court and the fate of scholars in the north and south.
Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe exchanged glances and nodded slowly.
Although Qi Yongtai and Li Sancai did not want to see this scene, they had no choice.
Prince Yizhong chose Tang Binyin, Miao Changqi, Jia Jing, Zhu Guozhen, and Gu Tianjun, which was actually equivalent to drawing a clear line with their Jiangnan scholars in the court.
No matter what, it is impossible for Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe to play supporting roles for Tang Binyin and others. This is related to the dignity of Ye Fang and the two as leaders of Jiangnan scholars. Officials can be improper, but the self-esteem of scholars cannot be lost.
Besides, although the current situation is dangerous, it is not without opportunities. The imperial court has Zhengshuo in hand. In terms of military strength, the imperial court still firmly dominates Jiangnan. Although Wang Ziteng and Niu Jizong can fight, Feng Tang, You Shigong, and Cao People like Wen Zhao and Sun Chengzong were not bad either. This was different from the situation during the "Battle of Jingnan" in the previous Ming Dynasty.
Fang Congzhe is the second assistant in charge of finance, and he understands the court's current difficulties best.
Once Prince Yi Zhong raises a rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River, water transportation will inevitably be interrupted, and Wang Ziteng in Huguang will definitely start immediately, which means that the entire Northland will immediately be in shortage of food. This does not take into account the possible consequences of this year's severe drought. greater difficulties.
The frontier army is in short supply of food, and their salaries can be suspended, but without food, how will the soldiers live?
At present, the grain supply in the second warehouse in Jingtong has not been replenished, and the true situation of the second warehouse in Shandong to Xuzhou is unknown. Moreover, Chen Jixian’s Huaiyang town lies across Xuzhou. It is hard to say which side he is on. It can be said that this food issue It will immediately become a brazier hanging overhead. Once it topples over, it will burst into flames all over the place.
This question is difficult to answer. Even though Feng Ziying has thought about it countless times, but when faced with the actual response, which should be dealt with first, which should be prioritized, and the court's ability to bear it, all need to be carefully considered.
Feng Ziying is not sure how much wealth there is within the imperial court. Is it because there is no response strategy, or is it just a careless underestimation of Prince Yizhong's side?
Ye Xianggao and Qi Yongtai certainly did not expect Feng Ziying to plan strategies for the court. They just wanted to rely on Feng Ziying's thinking outside the barriers, and maybe they could find some different paths.
Feng Ziying also realized this, and after thinking for a while, she said: "Since we have to prepare for a war, the troops and horses must go ahead before food and grass are used. In addition, there is a risk of drought in the north and water transportation interruption, so the court should first reserve enough food. This is the top priority at the moment. The second warehouse in Jingtong and the secondary warehouse in Linqing and Dezhou in Shandong must be cleared and replenished immediately. In addition, various methods must be adopted to encourage people in the north to store grain for emergencies. However, this We must also consider how to avoid triggering panic among the people..."
“Is there any specific strategy and countermeasures?” Fang Congzhe asked with a frown.
"Although Prince Yi Zhong is one with Jiangnan, Jiangnan does not represent the south, Huguang, Guangdong and Southwest. As far as the students know, the gentry in these places do not recognize those people in Jiangnan. Since the imperial court has temporarily lost control of Jiangnan , then we must firmly seize these places, and although the grain from Huguang may not be transported by water due to the interruption of water transportation, it can still enter Henan by land. The grain from Guangdong and Guangxi can be transported by sea to Shandong, Beizhi and even Liaodong. , as long as we seize these two places, the pain of food shortage can be alleviated by most..."
Feng Ziying's suggestion made several people nod slowly, and they also realized this.
In fact, the main area where grain is transported from south to north is not Jiangnan. The grain in Jiangnan can only protect itself. In the Songsu Lake Chang area, more cotton is planted and mulberry and silkworms are raised. Now the main grain production area is Huguang, while in the north A large part of the grain is actually transported southward via the Yangtze River and then northward through the canal.
"In addition, from a military point of view, the expedition to Jiangnan should be rushed rather than delayed. If it is delayed, the food needed by the frontier army and the capital will make the court unable to meet expenditures. However, this scale of urgency must also be grasped. If it is too cautious, , I’m afraid it will be counterproductive.”
This is a suggestion to the Ministry of War, and Zhang Huaichang naturally understands it.
"There is also the fight for Jiangnan. The imperial court cannot give up on Jiangnan just because the noisy Jiangnan gentry seem to be powerful and control the Seven Ministries of Nanjing. This game of competition cannot be let go easily. We only see those noisy people. However, there are also different opinions in Jiangnan. The silent majority may not necessarily support Prince Yi Zhong and Tang Binyin. The court must use various means to break up divisions and win over from within. Prime Minister Ye, Fang Xiang and the two Prime Ministers Li There should be ways and means available, and from a business perspective, businessmen value profits. They are definitely not willing to lose the big market of Northland and even Gyeonggi, so luring them with profits can also divide them internally..."
I have to admit that Feng Ziying's ideas are beyond ordinary people's. She has many ideas at her fingertips, and both Ye Fang and Ye Fang are slightly shaking their heads.
"Ziying, we all understand what you are saying, but you also know the difficulties of the imperial court. The Ministry of Household Affairs is very strapped for money..." Fang Congzhe sighed.
"At this critical moment, Prime Minister Fang must not be stingy with that little money anymore." Feng Ziying laughed, "Haitong Bank is definitely still willing to lend money to the court. King Zhongshun and the others are also very aware of the current situation, and there is no one in Jiangnan." What? Now that we have come this far, why should the imperial court pity Jiangnan? If it doesn't work, just use Jiangnan taxes and even the rebellious family assets as collateral to borrow money from Haitong Bank. Maybe the shares in Haitong Bank will be returned. There are those rebellious ones in Jiangnan, wouldn’t they just be used as discounts in the future?”
Although Haitong Yinzhuang is mainly invested by royal family members and wealthy merchants in Beijing, it still raised a lot of shares in Jiangnan, but that was all many years ago. At that time, the gentry and merchants in Jiangnan were not necessarily Just anticipated what happened today.
Now that the imperial court is in a tight situation, it is no problem to ask Haitong Yinzhuang to borrow money for military expenses and food purchases. From a business point of view, this is no problem, but it depends on how the person in charge views the final outcome of the war. Otherwise, What if Nanjing also wants to borrow money?
(End of this chapter)