"My lord, the emperor is now unconscious and unable to see clearly. Although Prince Yi Zhong is a few years older than the emperor, his physical condition is much better. In addition, I heard that the Supreme Emperor has always liked Prince Yi Zhong's eldest son Zhang Ling. Although in recent years, I didn’t see Prince Yi Zhong much, but Zhang Jun saw him whenever he went to Renshou Palace. And it must be said that Prince Yi Zhong, the crown prince, originally had an excellent reputation in the capital, far better than Prince Shou and Prince Fu Li. , was the original Prime Minister Shen, and now Prime Minister Ye, Fang, and even Mr. Qi Ge all have a very good impression of this prince..."
Wang Wenyan's voice was very low, whispering next to Feng Ziying. This kind of news could not be spread outside.
'oh? Could it be that the Supreme Emperor still wants Zhang Jun to be the crown prince? "Feng Ziying pondered and said: "Although this is impossible, it can increase the weight of Prince Yi Zhong a bit..." The original Shen Yiguan, and now Ye Xianggao, Fang Congzhe and Qi Shi if they all think highly of this prince, then it is still possible. It shows that this person is really likable. No wonder the Supreme Emperor values him so much.
"That's right, so the princes in the court may have some thoughts now. Prince Shou, Prince Fu, Prince Li seem to be mediocre people, Prince Lu, Prince Gong, are young, but Prince Yi Zhong, the crown prince, is very suitable in every aspect. and……"
Wang Wenyan paused, and Feng Ziying immediately realized that there was something else here, and asked in a deep voice: "And what?" "And I heard that Zhang Jun has a weak and humble temperament and is good at accepting advice. The princes in the court may think that this kind of temperament is more An emperor who meets their expectations.”
Wang Wenyan's words were a bit heartbreaking, but Feng Ziying understood it. No one liked an emperor who was too strong or too influential, which would definitely greatly suppress and weaken the power of the prime minister.
"Well, this does pose a difficult problem for the princes, making them both excited and conflicted." Feng Ziying laughed, "It seems that the people sent by Prince Yi Zhong must have played this card. Is it really possible to directly Is it possible for the crown prince, Prince Yohitada, to succeed directly in the future? There is no precedent for this, right?"
Wang Wenyan thought for a while before shaking his head: "It seems that this is not the case. With so many sons of the emperor, there is no reason for another branch to succeed him. Even if the emperor has this intention, it is unreasonable, so the brothers will end up as brothers. I'm afraid that was Nanjing's intention, but the Supreme Emperor loves Wu Jiwu, likes the prince, and is tolerant of his father."
"Hmph, it's a good idea." Feng Ziying was noncommittal. It had not been his turn to comment on this kind of thing before, so he didn't even mention it to Master Qi and Master Qiao. This may also be related to the fact that the matter is confidential and has not yet been finalized. , but now that I have returned to Beijing, I have to talk about it.
"At present, the imperial household department is extremely short-term. It is said that Mr. Huang's beard has turned a lot white because of this..." "Didn't Haitong Bank's loan and purchase of national debt add up to eight million?" Feng Ziying asked rhetorically.
"Sir, Jiangnan taxation has been suspended for almost two years. Eight million sounds like a lot. By then, it will be nothing to two years of Jiangnan taxation. Moreover, the imperial court is still at war in Sichuan, Shandong, and now South Zhili. Shanxi is in such chaos now, and the Nine Borders cannot be reduced too much. Officials' salaries, grain prices and other commodity prices have increased so much. How much can eight million help?"
Wang Wenyan smiled bitterly and sighed, "You are still talking about what the Denglai Navy wants. I'm afraid the court will veto it immediately because there is no money at all." ?” Feng Ziying sighed: “What’s the explanation?” Liaodong is dangerous, but isn’t the chaos in Shanxi not dangerous?
The White Lotus Sect has hidden murderous intentions and is waiting to strike. Isn't it dangerous? What about the Mongols? This is not to mention the confrontation between the Southern Zhili side and Niu Sunnan's army. In comparison, the rebellion in Sichuan was trivial.
All kinds of thoughts came to her mind, and Feng Ziying became more and more aware of the necessity of returning to the capital. It was already this time. If she didn't intervene in time, once it slipped into an uncontrollable situation and she was beyond the reach of the local government, then she would really regret it. It's too late.
After entering the palace gate, the officials were surprised to see Feng Ziying. Only then did they realize that Xiao Feng Xiuzhuan, who had solved the chaos in Shaanxi, had returned to the capital, and they all came to say hello and say hello. Feng Ziying also had to be patient and talk to her colleagues in the future.
If you get to the Ministry of War, you will have to deal with a lot of departments such as the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the General Affairs Department, and the Fifth Military Governor's Office in the future.
These departments are heavily bureaucracy
, when you encounter someone you don't like or have no connections, a thing that can be done in half a day can drag you on for three to five days, and it is also well-founded and prevents you from getting angry. Details determine success or failure. Feng Ziying was also an official in her previous life, so she naturally understood that the red tape of the Zhou Dynasty and the various cutscenes were even more frightening, but now she had to adapt to it.
Along the way, nodding and bowing, shaking hands with smiles, and touching shoulders and arms, there were no less than a dozen people. Feng Ziying found that she had unknowingly become a social expert in the capital city. Almost everyone knew her, and she seemed to be the most popular among them. We all have an impression. When we meet, we at least know roughly what the person's last name is and which department they are in. But it's really hard to tell them their name or number.
But this is enough. Just saying "Sir" can make people smile. Xiao Feng Xiuzuan, who just came back from Shaanxi, actually knows his last name and his position. This is quite rare. Finally, they met an acquaintance worth stopping by, Chai Ke, and Feng Ziying took the initiative to greet him, and they started chatting with each other.
"I'm finally back. I'm most relieved to go to Shaanxi, but I didn't expect that you would settle Shaanxi in less than a year and a half. Everyone is a little surprised." Chai grabbed Feng Ziying's hand and gasped. , "It's just that you also have future troubles. Why did the rebels cross the river and enter Shanxi? Now the rebellion in southern Shanxi is led by the Shaanxi rebels..."
"Chai Gong, can you blame me for this?" Feng Ziying shook her head. "When I came to Shaanxi, Shaanxi had already been in chaos. No, it should be two pots of porridge. The three prefectures in northern Shaanxi were in one pot, and the eastern part of Xi'an Prefecture was in one pot. Guo, I don’t have a lot of head and six arms. When I was still pacifying the three prefectures in northern Shaanxi, the rebels from Xi’an Prefecture had already crossed the river into Shanxi. I couldn’t fly over. At least I forced the Tongguan guards to cross the river and capture Po. The salt envoys in both Zhou and Hedong are guarded, right? If it had been anyone else, who would have done such a thankless and stupid thing?"
The Tongguan Guards defended Puzhou, finally leaving a piece of pure land in the chaos of southwestern Shanxi. Whether the Shaanxi or Henan armies wanted to go to reinforce, they could rely on Puzhou as a fulcrum. Zhang Huaichang and Li Sancai disagreed with this. Juekou said frankly that Feng Ziying has a sense of the overall situation and is a role model.
"But the situation in Shanxi is very serious now, don't you know? Fengzhou Bailian and the Tumut people have joined forces to invade the border area, and the Chahar people are also starting to make moves, so I won't say more to you now, you Hurry to Wenyuan Pavilion, the princes may still be waiting for you, it seems you have to get into the role soon."
Chai Ke waved his hands, his face also full of worry.
"Chai Gong, it seems that I, the Minister of the Ministry of War, am going to be a real person. Then who will be the Left Minister?" Feng Ziying asked smoothly. "Zhisheng is appointed Zuo Shilang." Chai Ke replied. "Who will take charge of the Northern Front Army?" Feng Ziying frowned.
"It may be Chong Zhongrun. Originally, the imperial court intended to let Qing Li go, but with the situation in Shanxi now, Qing Li might have to go to Shanxi soon to coordinate Datong, the Second Town of Shanxi and the entire Shanxi Guard system to deal with it, so we can only let Qing Li go. Tong Zhongkui has come to take charge of the Northern Front Army." Chai Ke saw Feng Ziying frowning, "Why, are you worried about Qing Li or Tong Zhongkui?"
"It's definitely no problem for Mr. Yuan to take up the post in Shanxi, but how long has it been since Chong Zhongshen was transferred to the Huguang Dusi and was transferred to the Shandong Dusi?" Feng Ziying hesitated, "I'm worried that he is not familiar with the army in the north, especially the complicated origins of the northern front army. , there are both the Jizhen Army, the Beijing Camps, and some of the Northern Guards. He has been in the south, so he may not be able to unite these people."
"What you said makes sense, but now that there is no one available in the court, we can't let Chen Jingxuan go, right?" Chai Ge also found it difficult, "How about Cao Wenzhao?"
"Cao Wenzhao is inappropriate. The Northern Front Army was originally Ji Liao's reserve army. If something happens to Liaodong, Cao Wenzhao can be selfless, but what about the soldiers under him?" Feng Ziying shook his head, "Forget it, we can only let Tong go first. Zhong Zhuan went first, I hope he can get acquainted with it as soon as possible."
After saying goodbye to Chai Ke, Feng Ziying went straight to Wenyuan Pavilion.
When we entered, all the princes in the hall were there, including Zhang Huaijing and Huang Ruliang. When they saw Feng Ziying coming in, they all called Feng Jianying to take a seat. "When did you arrive? You were told that you wouldn't be able to arrive until tomorrow." Ye Xianggao asked kindly, "Has the journey been smooth, Ziying?"
"It went smoothly. The waterway was much smoother than the one in Shanxi..." Feng Ziying noticed that when she mentioned Shanxi, the faces of all the gentlemen present were a little ugly, and she couldn't bear it.
He said he couldn't hold it back, "The situation in Shanxi is not good? Something happened?"
"Well, you are about to take office anyway, so there is no need to hide it from you. Suye's cavalry has broken through Sanshan Dun and Ying'en Fort, bypassed Moba Mountain, and is heading south. Yang Yuan is a little busy fighting the chaos. "The border troops moving north from Jingping were slow..." Li Sancai glanced at Ye Xianggaocai and said solemnly: "The Han people from Fengzhou Bailian played a key role in this. They bribed a long-term relationship with the Yingenbao garrison. The sentry commander who came and went used the excuse of smuggling smuggled fur goods to trick the defenders into opening and closing the door to transport the goods, but he was attacked and broke through the gate..."
Needless to say, in the follow-up, Han Chinese like Fengzhou Bailian served as a breakthrough. There may even be many White Lotus believers in the Datong Army, who cooperated internally and externally, and even colluded with the Tumut people. The result is obvious.
The problem is that if it is broken at one point, the entire western defense line of Datong Town will collapse. The Tumut cavalry and the Fengzhou Bailian rebels who have bypassed the checkpoint can easily go around and attack from behind.
