"Mother, do you think the current situation is a test for me from my father?"
After Zhu Cixiang was surprised, he said a little suspiciously.
Empress Zhou glanced at Zhu Cixiang and said in a deep voice: "Your father was indeed a bit... irresolute in the past, but since he received the true inheritance of Taizu, he has almost taken every step and made every move."
"Although Linyi is nearly a thousand miles away from the capital, the incident between the Jurchens and the rebels happened not long ago. From your father's perspective, it is impossible not to see all this..."
Zhu Cixiang listened to Zhou Hou's story and said with some worry: "Mother, how do you know so much? You know that my father..."
As he spoke, he stopped again and looked at Queen Zhou with a complicated expression.
Seeing that Zhu Cixiang no longer asked about the situation of the battle, but instead cared about her safety, Zhou Hou felt happy but also worried.
She originally wanted to take the opportunity to admonish Zhu Cihong, but when she saw the worried look on his face, she calmed down and said: "Lang'er, as the prince of the prison country, you should have the courage to supervise the country, and you can't just stick to the rules."
"And with your father's strategy and methods, if you really don't trust Shen Zhanran, how can you leave him in the suburbs of Beijing?"
When Zhu Cihong heard this, he remembered that his father had banned Fan Jingwen and Li Banghua before, and then asked him to deliver the order to release them. He immediately understood in his heart and said respectfully: "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your advice. I understand."
"I immediately issued an order to let you temporarily take over the position of minister of the Ministry of War and assist Li Jing in handling counter-insurgency matters."
Empress Zhou frowned and said, "If Shen Zhanran makes meritorious service this time, how are you going to reward him?"
When Zhu Cihong heard this, he knew that Empress Zhou felt that he had given Shen Zhanran too much reward.
Because Shen Zhanran was only a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy before, he was classified as a fifth-ranked official, while the Minister of War was a third-ranked official.
His reward this time was equivalent to being promoted to Shen Zhanran by four levels in a row.
Although Zhu Cixiang also felt that the reward was a bit excessive, because he recognized Shen Zhanran very much in his heart, he forcefully explained: "Mother, I know that this is a bit over the limit, but the current military situation is urgent. If you don't let me take charge of the military department, I will be worried." He will be restrained..."
After Zhou Hou listened to his story, he shook his head and said, "Lang'er, this is not a matter of exceeding the limit."
"Think about it, both Shen Zhanran and Li Jing came from Caomang. Why did your father promote Li Jing to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in just a few months, while Shen Zhanran was always only a fifth-rank bachelor?"
Seeing the confusion and unwillingness in Zhu Cixiang's eyes, Empress Zhou said in a deep voice: "I know that you admire Shen Zhanran very much, and Shen Zhanran does have great talents, but you have to understand that the more talented people are, the more careful they need to be in using them."
"In addition, Shen Zhanran is proud by nature. If you are now rewarded for nothing, not only will the courtiers criticize you, but I am afraid that he may not accept it, and it will easily backfire."
"You might as well restore the powers of his cabinet now. This will not only make it easier for him to do things, but also leave room for promotion..."
After listening to Queen Zhou's story, Zhu Cihong also understood that he had been too emotional just now. After bowing in agreement, he looked at Queen Zhou several times, but did not speak.
When Empress Zhou saw this, she knew that she had talked too much about government affairs today, which made Zhu Cixi worried, so she said again: "You don't need to worry. If the situation was not urgent today, my mother would not tell you these things."
"After this matter is settled, the Queen Mother will not know about things that should not be known to her, let alone speak out."
When Zhu Cixi heard this, he said with some embarrassment: "Mother, you have misunderstood, my son..."
Seeing that Zhu Cixiang was anxious, Empress Zhou lovingly pulled him to her side and softly comforted him: "Lang'er, my mother said this not because she blames you, but because she wants to make your future journey smoother!"
Seeing the kind face of Empress Zhou, Zhu Cixiang completely let go of his original worries. At the same time, he secretly made up his mind to reconcile his father and mother.
It turned out that after rumors circulated in the capital that Chongzhen disliked Zhou Hou and wanted to marry Zuo Xianmei as his concubine, he discovered that although Zhou Hou looked calm on the surface, she was secretly sad when no one was around.
And he always respected Chongzhen and did not dare to act rashly.
But after listening to Zhou Hou's words today, his heart suddenly became enlightened, and some of the original shackles no longer existed.
After the confinement in Zhu Cixiang's heart was lifted, his speech was full of pride, and he even inadvertently expressed his intention to deal with Zuo Xianmei.
Although Zhou Hou knew that this was inappropriate, she thought that Zhu Cixiang was like a strong sapling at the moment and could only help his momentum, but could not curb his nature, so he didn't say anything more.
But now, even though she was chatting with Zhu Cixiang, she kept thinking about her husband, who was becoming more and more invisible to her.
In fact, it's not just Zhou Hou who can't see through it now. Zhu Yuanzhang is also a little unable to see through Wang Fuzhi, who is dressed in Confucian attire and has deep eyes in front of him.
Because Wang Fuzhi was just a country man, not only was he highly recommended by Du Yinxi, but Zhang Huangyan also adopted his strategy of pacifying Wuchang.
It turned out that Zhang Huangyan was on his way to Wuchang. When he heard that Bai Wang had made a comeback, he felt something was wrong and sent someone to Jingxiang to investigate.
Although Bai Wang acted cautiously, because he had many soldiers and horses, and the gangsters were almost omnipresent, Zhang Huangyan still found out about his army's encirclement and suppression of Yinxi.
After Zhang Huangyan learned about this, he originally wanted to lead his army to attack Bai Wang from behind. Unexpectedly, news came from the Jinyi Guards that Zhang Xianzhong's troops leaving Sichuan were not remnants, but Li Dingguo's elite in disguise.
Although Zhang Huangyan has never met Li Dingguo, he has heard people talk about him and knows that Li Dingguo is a fierce general.
And he thought that Li Dingguo had come incognito, and his plans would be big, so he hurriedly sent a letter to Li Ruolian, hoping that after Li Ruolian arrived, they would attack Bai Wang and Li Dingguo together. Unexpectedly, Wang Fuzhi came with Yinxi's letter at this time.
After Zhang Huangyan read the letter, he realized that Du Yinxi had already known about Bai Wang and Li Dingguo.
It turned out that although Du Yinxi only had a few thousand troops, he had been an official in Huguang and was quite popular in the area, so he had noticed Bai Wang's incident early.
After he learned of Bai Wang's intentions, he originally wanted to lead his army to Wuchang. However, because he heard that Qin Liangyu had secretly left Sichuan under orders, and that Bai Wang's attack was not urgent, he decided to split up with Shen Yunying in both overt and covert ways.
This way you can take care of each other and delay time.
When Qin Liangyu's troops arrive, they can defeat the rebels in one fell swoop.
Unexpectedly, Wang Fuzhi suddenly visited at this time and told Du Yinxi that he learned from a fellow villager that the purpose of Bai Wang and Li Dingguo's battle was not to regain Wuchang, but to hold back Du Yinxi and others.
Therefore, he suspected that Bai Wang and Li Dingguo were just suspects, and the real target of the rebels should be the capital.
It was suggested that Du Yinxi leave some soldiers and horses to continue to confuse Bai Wang, and the army rushed to Xi'an at night to stop Li Zicheng's idea of surprise attack on the capital and force the rebels to regain Xi'an.
Du Yinxi had some doubts before, but now he understood Wang Fuzhi's story.
However, because there were few soldiers in Wuchang, he was worried that it would be self-defeating. When he was hesitating, he unexpectedly received a message from Zhang Huangyan.
After Du Yinxi learned that Zhang Huangyan and Li Ruolian had led their troops to Wuchang, his original worries were relieved.
Some people died, but not completely...
