In Xihe Palace
As Jia Heng explained the military strategy in a clear and logical manner, not only the irritability in Emperor Chongping's heart was relieved, but also the civil servants of Qi and Zhejiang, including Yang Guochang, Han Huang, Zhao Mo, etc., slowly began to feel nervous. put it down.
Well, it may sound a bit mean. After a previous dispute, although no one among the ministers was willing to admit their stupidity, Jia Heng's foresight, or his accurate deduction of the situation in Henan, has already The image of a far-sighted military minister is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Since he said it's okay, it's probably preventable and controllable, and the sky hasn't fallen yet.
As he said, not only was there a comprehensive plan, but due consideration was given to the civil unrest in Shandong and Hebei provinces. Once Shandong mobilized troops to suppress it, unrest might also occur in this province.
Ordinary people, who can think of it?
In fact, the road protection movement in Sichuan during the late Qing Dynasty led to the Hubei army entering Sichuan to suppress it, and eventually the Wuchang Uprising broke out. For a time, wars raged across the country and chaos reigned everywhere.
Of course, it was impossible for the people present to travel through history and understand the history that took place in this parallel time and space. However, they still knew that once the Henan and Zhou provinces acted rashly, their military strength would be depleted, which would be taken advantage of by the chaos and corrupt several provinces.
At this time, no one said anything unfounded or alarmist.
Emperor Chongping thought about what Jia Heng said, his face darkened for a few times, and he felt that what Jia Heng said was reasonable. He nodded and said: "What Zi Yu said is very true, and other provinces have to guard against it."
This is similar to Jia Heng's deduction of the situation in Henan. At that time, it was because of the opposition of the cabinet and military aircraft that he had doubts. As a result, the situation today is corrupt. The lessons from the past are not far away.
Jia Heng cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the Beijing camp has been reorganizing the army in the past and now has nearly 200,000 elite soldiers. They are strong and ready, and they are fully capable of suppressing the situation in Henan. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, it is difficult for civil unrest to take hold!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongping thought about the 12th Regiment Camp of the Beijing Camp, and finally felt relieved.
In fact, any feeble comfort is inferior to a meaningful strategy. This is the biggest difference between women and men. The former only needs others to listen to her vent her emotions, while the latter needs real solutions.
One, two, three, four, listed in detail, well-founded.
At this time, Emperor Chongping turned to look at the kneeling ministers below. The scene just now appeared in front of his eyes. Even though he knew in his heart that he was responsible, he recognized it. What about them?
The civil and military officials in the court happily circulated the news of victory, but no one found out that it was a trick of the bandits. Didn't you know to remind him?
I don’t know the rules of good news, don’t you guys know either?
Moreover, he is still making noise and taking the opportunity to criticize Jia Heng, hoping to get rid of him quickly!
This is his minister of civil and military affairs. Do they have to wait until the bandits cross the sea, reach Shenjing, and cause chaos under his nose before they can find out? !
This is human psychology. When the nerves relax a little, the selfish instinct of resenting others and downplaying one's own responsibilities emerges. However, just now Emperor Chongping suppressed the instinct with great willpower. At this time, a trace of ambiguity gradually emerged deep in his heart read.
It is conceivable that as time goes by, the memory of one's mistakes will gradually fade and shrink, and what will be solidified and amplified will be the incompetence and stupidity of the officials.
This is why Jia Heng was tossing and turning before, otherwise this thorn in Emperor Chongping's heart would fall on him in the future.
Emperor Chongping suppressed the negative emotions in his heart and asked the pale and concerned Queen Song beside him, "Zitong, why don't you see King Wei?"
Today was originally the concubine ceremony for King Wei.
Empress Song's white jade skin was still stained with tears, and there were still a few teardrops on her curved eyelashes. She said in a sad voice: "Your Majesty, Ran'er and other sects are kneeling in the side hall to pray for Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongping looked silent for a moment and said, "Today is a good day for King Wei to get married."
Turning around, he looked at Yao Yu, the Minister of Rites, and muttered: "Read the imperial edict to King Wei and Princess Wei, and the ceremony will be held as usual."
Empress Song squeezed the handkerchief tightly and choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, why do you still have thoughts? Nowadays, national affairs are important, so the ceremony ends here."
When something like this happened, the previous good omen turned into a very bad omen.
I don’t know how many people would arrange it with bad intentions. Is there something ominous about King Wei’s ceremony? How can we still hold a grand ceremony? ?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but think of the bride of the Nan'an family, and Empress Song couldn't help but feel a little unhappy in her heart.
His Majesty fainted just now. As his daughter-in-law, he was still wearing a red hijab. He opened the hijab without panic and looked around. It was simply...
Emperor Chongping waved his hand, with a slight lack of energy: "I have nothing to do, Zitong, please let the clan come in."
His safety affects the hearts of many people. At this moment, he needs to be able to show his health to the officials and appease the hearts of Chinese and foreign people. Otherwise, if the capital camp sends troops out of the capital, will the sacred capital be empty?
There are some things that we have to guard against.
After a while, the king of Wei, the king of Qi and Chu and other clan members, led by the two princes-in-law Yongchang and Nanyang, entered the palace again, knelt down in the darkness, and greeted the emperor.
Prince Qi first took a few steps on his knees, came close enough, and cried: "Father, you have frightened my son. I just fainted when I saw you. My heart felt like a fried cone, and I wished I could take your place in your place." "
Talking and crying.
The other clan members also shed tears in unison, crying softly.
King Chu also wiped away his tears, knelt down and said with tears streaming down his face: "I hope my father will protect the dragon body."
Seeing his two sons crying bitterly and the surrounding clan members crying loudly, Emperor Chongping frowned and felt an inexplicable irritation in his heart. He said in a cold voice: "My health is not serious. It's just that there is chaos in Henan and the military situation is on fire. I We need to discuss important matters with the courtiers, so you all must go back to the palace first, and you are not allowed to leave without permission."
Prince Qi didn't understand Emperor Chongping's order for a while, and cried sadly: "I'm not going anywhere. I want to pray for my father in the palace."
Jia Heng saw that Emperor Chongping's eyes were evil and his face was ugly.
After thinking for a while, he looked at Qijun Wang Chen Cheng, frowned and said: "Now the Holy One needs to rest and recuperate, and also has to deal with military affairs. The prince is crying and shouting, making people panic. Why is he so ignorant of the general situation?"
Prince Qi: "..."
The crying suddenly stopped, the flesh on his chubby face twitched, and he opened his mouth.
He is filial and sincere, what's wrong with crying?
No, you Jia Ziyu, this is a suspicion that he is cursing his father... heart-wrenching words!
Emperor Chongping also realized at this moment where the unreasonable irritability came from, and his face became almost gloomy.
When the courtiers outside heard cries in the palace, they thought he had died!
This Chen Cheng is as stupid as a pig!
Seeing the sullen look on the emperor's face, Queen Song frowned, Yongmei's snowy face covered with a layer of frost, and said softly: "The person who came, led the Prince of Qi, the Prince of Chu and other clans out of the palace, and returned to the mansion respectively. Wei Your Majesty, you will also lead Princess Wei back to the mansion, waiting for the imperial decree of canonization."
At this point, even if I still feel sorry for my son, there is no possibility of continuing the ceremony.
King Wei raised his head at this moment, with tears still on his face. He kowtowed and said with choked sobs, "I obey, and please protect the dragon body."
At this time, some internal eunuchs came over and persuaded Prince Qi and other clan members to leave Xihe Palace.
Chen Cheng wanted to say something else, but he just looked up and met the gloomy and indifferent eyes of Emperor Chongping. His heart skipped a beat and he choked with sobs: "My son... my father still hopes to take care of the dragon body. I will go back home to pray for my father."
After the clan left under the watch of the ministers, the originally noisy hall gradually became silent.
Emperor Chongping felt relieved, turned to look at Jia Heng, and said warmly: "The military situation in Henan is now very fierce, and there can be no further delay! The cabinet drafted a decree, issued an edict, and ordered the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Deputy Envoy of Jingying Jiedu Jia Heng was an imperial envoy and led troops to Henan to quell the rebellion and suppress the arrests. He also used the Emperor's Sword to control the official army in Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, and Huguang provinces. He had full power as the governor to suppress the bandits and help the people, but he failed to suppress the arrests. Provincial civil and military officials who are perfunctory and obsessive about their duties have the right to kill them first and then report them, and do whatever is convenient for them!"
As soon as these words came out, the officials in the palace were stunned and dumbfounded.
Kill first and tell later, acting cheaply?
Since the founding of the country, this has only happened in the Taizu and Taizong dynasties. At that time, the national code was not yet mature. It was not until the Longzhi period that the first four characters of these eight characters were gradually removed, and "doing things cheaply" was also changed. It has become a "cheap thing to do", and the governor and governor are given royal orders and flags. This is called "pretending to be cheap", but the officials themselves have a certain degree of control, and no one will really kill them first and then report them later.
The governors and governors of the same city still interacted with each other, because no one touched the other, but now such a direct grant of the power to kill the second-grade border is indeed unprecedented since the founding of the country!
However, it has never happened since the founding of the People's Republic of China that a provincial government was overthrown by rebels!
Yang Guochang's face changed, his lips moved, and he subconsciously wanted to refute the emperor's "random fate".
He has the power to kill local officials first and then report them. If the second-rank governor fails to suppress the bandits, he can kill them first and then report them to the court. This is giving Jia Heng the full power to suppress the bandits. How can he be so chaotic?
Although there are no express provisions for local officials, even if a cabinet minister like him goes to serve as an imperial envoy, he does not have the right to kill first and then report officials of third grade or above. Most of them are to arrest them and send them to the capital.
For example, Li Zan had previously sent Tang Kuan, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, to the capital for discussion. This was an unwritten political rule.
At this time, Yang Guochang couldn't utter a single word of his advice, because he had his share of mistakes in today's situation and had no reason to object.
Han Huang's face changed slightly, his eyes flickered, and he sighed secretly in his heart.
Kill first and report later, act cheaply, just eight words are enough to explain the emperor's fear of the chaos in Henan and his trust in Jia Ziyu.
Sure enough, after the previous incident, the emperor had pinned all his hopes on Jia Ziyu. This was to cut off all the fetters that might interfere with Jia Ziyu's ability to put out the civil unrest in Henan.
If local officials dare to impose restrictions, Jia Ziyu can kill them first and then report them.
Xu Lu frowned, feeling like something was stuck in his throat. He didn't want to spit it out and finally just took a deep breath and suppressed it.
That's all, it's just a temporary power, and only because of the Henan incident, I will eventually take it back when I return to the capital.
Moreover, although Jia Ziyu is young, he is not a person who does not know how to advance and retreat. When Jinyi was in prison, it can be seen that he is not a person who is good at exercising authority.
Jia Heng's face was slightly shaken, and he bowed his hands and said in a voice like stone: "I thank Your Majesty for your trust, and I hope that Your Majesty will not worry about the bandits. I will do my best to calm down the chaos in Henan for Your Majesty."
After Emperor Chongping finished speaking, he closed his eyes slightly, as if his mind was a little tired and he felt a little tired.
Empress Song supported Emperor Chongping's arm and said softly: "Your Majesty, please go back to the back hall to rest first. It's noon now, so Your Majesty should have some lunch."
Xihe Palace has an apse, which was used for Emperor Chongping to rest during grand ceremonies.
Xihe Palace was originally planning to hold a banquet for all the ministers after the concubine ceremony, but now all the civil and military officials knelt down to pray for the emperor. Even though it was almost noon, no lunch was served, and most people were frightened. Replaced the hunger in the belly.
At this time, Dr. Li said in a clear voice: "Your Majesty has become ill due to overwork. He needs a good rest to recuperate. I will prescribe you some medicine and your Majesty will regulate his blood and energy."
Emperor Chongping nodded, then looked at Jia Heng with a pair of complex eyes, and said: "Zi Yu, now the troops and horses are dispatched as scheduled. You can have some lunch with me first, and explain to me what happened in Henan and other provinces." I'm still a little unsure about the situation."
There were some things that were difficult to ask in front of the ministers just now.
When Jia Heng heard this, his expression was startled, he cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I obey the order."
The current emperor's love for his holy family has already rebounded in a "blowout" style, and at least there are signs of "attachment" in the Henan incident.
Because, according to the scene previously described for the emperor, if the provinces were to suppress it, it would not be chaos in Henan, but chaos in the whole north.
In view of his "exhaustive strategy" in the Henan Rebellion, the emperor could not help but ignore him.
At this moment, as Emperor Chongping and Jia Heng returned to the back hall of Xihe Palace, all the officials in the empty hall were kneeling on the floor, but not one of them got up.
No one dared to act without Emperor Chongping's words.
In the back hall, Jia Heng helped Emperor Chongping sit down, while several imperial doctors looked at the sickly emperor.
Compared to the noise in the front hall, it was much quieter at the moment with only Empress Song, Jia Heng, and a group of imperial doctors.
Jia Heng looked at Emperor Chongping and said comfortingly: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. If the Beijing camp is not reorganized, it may be difficult to deal with such chaos in Henan. However, the troops and horses of the Beijing camp have been reorganized. Even if the bandits attack the provincial capital, they will not be able to deal with it." The government and the public were in shock, but they did not worry about shaking the country. On the contrary, they launched a hasty revolt and wiped them out. Otherwise, when I fight with the Donglu, the bandits will cause chaos in Henan again, and then there will be internal and external troubles, and the danger will be overwhelming."
The biggest feature of the late Ming Dynasty in the previous life was that the intruders and the Tatars echoed from afar, just like they had made an appointment, one after another, making it difficult for the Ming court to take care of itself.
Empress Song said softly: "Your Majesty, Ziyu is very confident. Since he said this, he already has a plan. Your Majesty should not get angry like that."
Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment and asked: "As Ziyu just said, several provinces in the north may also be affected by the civil unrest in Henan?"
Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty, according to what I said, as long as we don't rashly send troops to Henan to suppress the troops and monotonize the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp, then no matter how hard the bandits try, they will not disrupt the entire northern provinces."
"That's it... that's good." Emperor Chongping thought about it, sighed, and asked thoughtfully: "Will the chaos in Kaifeng be harmful to the world..."
Some things are not good to ask in front of the ministers.
Will the chaos in Henan shake the prestige of the central government, or even...his prestige as the emperor?
Regarding the latter, Emperor Chongping could not speak outright, and could only rely on his ministers' understanding.
Jia Heng shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, as long as the bandit rebellion is quickly wiped out and the powerful troops in the capital are powerful throughout the world, the prestige of the imperial court will not be shaken. However, Your Majesty, I have a suggestion that I don't know whether to say or not."
Emperor Chongping said hurriedly: "Between my monarch and my ministers, there is no harm in speaking out."
Jia Heng pondered for a moment and said: "The civil uprising in Henan caused disaster and several counties in Runing Prefecture fell. Firstly, it was because the local officers and generals were incompetent and had low combat effectiveness. Secondly, the people lived in poverty and the people were resentful. It was easy for the officials to suppress the thieves and bandits. But as long as the people are unable to make ends meet and struggle to make a living, I am afraid that civil unrest will continue one after another."
Nowadays, the northern provinces of Chen and Han are like a tinderbox, which can be easily ignited at a moment's notice. They need to introduce some specific policies on people's livelihood.
Of course, saying this was not his real purpose, but to show Emperor Chongping his views on Henan, such as the gains and losses of civil affairs, and post-war suppression. This was a foreshadowing for him to intervene in personnel affairs in Henan.
"I know the corruption of officials, the people's livelihood, natural disasters and man-made disasters." Emperor Chongping pondered for a moment and said solemnly: "After the arrests are made, I will draw up a regulation for the suppression of the people based on what you have seen during your investigation in Henan."
Jia Heng's expression paused and he said, "I obey your order."
At this time, the female officer entered the palace again and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty and several other princesses, Princess Chu, Princess Qi... are all here to visit Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongping thought for a while and said to Empress Song beside him: "Let everyone come over, and we will pass on lunch. After lunch, Ziyu will go to Henan."
Empress Song responded softly, and then ordered the female officials to let people in, and also passed around lunch.
While they were talking, Concubine Duanrong and others, who were originally waiting for them in the side hall, entered the back hall.
"Brother." Princess Jinyang entered the palace accompanied by Qinghe Princess Li Chanyue. She first glanced at the young man in the python suit and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then she pulled Qinghe Princess Li Chanyue to Emperor Chongping. He asked with concern: "Brother, are you feeling better now?"
Other daughters of Emperor Chongping, such as Princess Xianning and Princess Nanyang, also gathered around and knelt down to greet Emperor Chongping.
Concubine Duanrong came closer. The beauty's eyes were filled with tears, and she asked, "Your Majesty, why did you faint before?"
Emperor Chongping looked at all the princesses, nodded softly, his eyes fell on Concubine Duanrong's face, and said: "I'm fine. I just haven't had a good sleep for a few days. The imperial doctor has looked at it. I'll just take some medicine and nurse myself back to health." ”
Jia Heng stood aside and listened to the greetings of the crowd of warblers, his face as calm as black water.
Princess Chu Zhen Qing couldn't help but glance at the young man in python suit standing in front of him. At this moment, his face was turned sideways. It could be seen that the lips under the peak of his eyebrows and under the straight bridge of his nose were slightly pursed, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
He seemed to feel something, and glanced at him coldly.
Zhen Qing couldn't help but her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly lowered her eyes, not daring to look away.
Seeing the commotion again, Empress Song frowned and said, "The imperial doctor said earlier that Your Majesty still needs to rest."
The originally noisy back hall gradually became quiet.
Then, Queen Song turned to look at Concubine Duanrong and said softly: "Sister, have you returned home?"
"I heard something happened here. I'm still waiting in the stands." Concubine Duanrong said in a low voice.
"Have someone tell Concubine Nan'an that Ran'er and King Wei have returned to the mansion and will pay tribute to the Imperial Ancestral Temple another day." Empress Song pursed her lips and said softly.
Concubine Duanrong ordered the female officials to go.
After a while, Xia Shouzhong, the general manager of the Sixth Palace, entered the palace and said, "Your Majesty, lunch has been prepared in the imperial dining room."
Emperor Chongping called Jia Heng and said, "Ziyu, come here and use some."
At this moment, all the concubines and female relatives noticed the young man, with complicated thoughts.
(End of chapter)
