With the breakthrough opened in Qiu Shenji, Prince Li Hong once again acted as a prisoner and sent out a message to the students of the lower middle school who were left behind. On the one hand, they began to search for Qiu Shenji's former accomplices in Chang'an City, who were also some of the children of dilapidated nobles and commoner families.
They often serve in the Xun, Ling, and Ce related to the Sixteenth Guards of Nanya, and the Three Guards of the Five Prefectures; they serve as middle-level officers or lower-level generals; at the same time, because of their family origins, they are also followed by a varying number of guards, guards, etc. There are more than 20 family members and other members involved.
Don't underestimate that just these people, plus their guards and generals, are enough to control and control the soldiers of their respective brigade or regiment; with appropriate inducements and promises, they can be driven to stay in the capital. Thousands or even thousands of people were recruited to cause chaos.
And Qiu Shenji is just one of the secret agents in dozens of military mansions in Gyeonggi Province. If it weren't for the attack on His Royal Highness Twelve, and he was hastily mobilized to support/remediate the aftermath, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been exposed so quickly. , and there is such a secretly woven network.
As an important node in this network in the name of mutual communication and mutual assistance, he is also a key figure who secretly provides financial and material support to these generals and commanders from poor families and common people. He was soon implicated, but the responsible person was placed in charge. Insiders of the investigation were astonished.
Because it was very different from the expected Wu clan; the other party was also a descendant of an aristocratic family, Zheng Jingxuan, who was the eunuch of the palace at the time. Not only was he born in the Lianshanfang of the Zheng family in Xingyang, he was of the same lineage as Taichang Shaoqing Zheng Xiu, but he was also the consort of Princess Qianjin, the eighteenth daughter of the great ancestor Li Yuan.
In terms of seniority, he can be regarded as the uncle of the current emperor and the aunt of Prince Li Hong. Therefore, when this line was drawn out, Zheng Jingxuan had already taken the lead and went to the Eastern Capital to report on his work on the pretext of offering sacrificial objects; Temporarily out of the control and authority of Prince Li Hong.
On the other hand, Prince Li Hong sent corresponding envoys from the East Palace in the name of supervising the country and began to inspect the food and clothing reserves and supplies of various military offices in Gyeonggi Province on the grounds of preparation for famine. As a result, a number of secret frauds, embezzlements, shortfalls and misappropriations were immediately discovered.
Of course, as the saying goes, "The intention of Xiangzhuang's sword dance is Pei Gong"; since Zhenguan and Yonghui, although there has been no shortage of wars in the border areas; the Gyeonggi and Guannai Road, which are the elbows of the capital, have been at peace for decades. It is not uncommon for military equipment to be lax and to have many disadvantages.
The key is how Dong Palace can expand its influence in the military in disguised form without touching the taboos of the Second Saint, and even obtain potential reinforcements. First of all, those restricted and suppressed ministers cannot get too close; the Suwei Wanqi and Yulin Army; and the serving generals of the Sixteenth Guards of Nanya cannot be touched.
Therefore, it is a good intervention point to purge the military mansions in Gyeonggi and Guan Nei and provide relief to the poor families of the soldiers. In fact, since the Yonghui period, the land annexation that occurred during the Taiping years has begun to erode and affect the foundation of the country's military system.
According to the system established by the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the soldiers of the government had the land granted by the state for generations without having to pay taxes or perform corvee service; but they had to set aside one to several months every year to guard the borders and city outposts; if a war broke out, The soldiers of the government must also prepare their own armor and report to their respective guards.
Therefore, some soldiers in various military mansions have already lost their homes and fled. It is precisely because of this that restraining the land annexation in the capital and customs and reorganizing and restoring the positions of various military offices are among the most politically correct things in the contemporary era. I just didn’t have the intention before, nor was I determined enough to proceed.
When Prince Li Hong realized that his time was running out and decided to push the matter forward with all his strength, several prime ministers in Beijing who were responsible for assisting the country in supervising the country had almost no reason to refuse publicly, and a considerable scale of power was immediately formed in the capital. The influence and momentum lasted until the beginning of spring.
This military inspection and rectification was temporarily suspended because all the prime ministers jointly stated that spring plowing was imminent and a large amount of manpower investment was needed. During this period, as many as seven military offices were dismissed and replaced, and hundreds of generals were punished for this. On the contrary, Qiu Shenji's Zhaoying Mansion was the most orderly.
Therefore, the prince Li Hong could not help but have a love for talents. Although he deposed Qiu Shenji's Zhechong Commandery, he later transferred his military status to the Youjianmen Commandery of the East Palace Ten Commands, and temporarily led the Sige Army for a crime. responsibility. With the arrival of spring, there are also emissaries from the Eastern Capital.
On the Wangxian Bridge at the south gate of the Lishan Hot Spring Palace, the welcome car from Dongdu also ended the short but precious time the two girls spent together. Therefore, Li Twelve, who was dressed in men's clothing, reluctantly turned around every step of the way, held his best friend's hand tightly and said with hidden tears:
"Wan'er, do you really not want to go to the Eastern Capital with me? I can ask the prince, my eldest brother, or my father, the emperor, and the empress to give your mother a suitable title. In this way, we can spend a long time together day and night. Whether it's reading, playing together, or raising raccoon slaves..."
"Twelfth Mother, haven't you already said it?" The girl sighed to her tenderly and kindly: "The Crown Prince and Concubine Pei are very good to me and my mother, how can they dare to betray them so easily? If they follow the trend of others like this, , How can a slave who covets wealth and honor be worthy of your respect and trust?"
"What's more, Twelve Sisters, what do you want is a confidant and friend who can talk to you about everything and can be honest without worrying about leaks? Or a follower who only obeys you and does everything according to your wishes? It must be like this I have seen too many people around His Highness."
"That's not what I meant... In my heart, how could you be the same as those vulgar and wealthy people?" Li Twelve couldn't help but feel a little panicked when he heard this, and pouted a little aggrievedly: "I just think, An outstanding person like Wan'er should have more opportunities and future."
"I accept your intention, but it's really not necessary." The girl smiled and sighed again: "Because, I was once one of those mediocre people! His Highness was born into a noble family, so naturally he doesn't understand. I was once a lowly person in the palace, and I was in constant fear."
"At that time, even my mother was in fear and walking on thin ice; and I could only hide in the shabby house all day long, relying on the books and words that my mother brought back for comfort and enlightenment; despite this, my mother still almost My son is dead; thank you for your timely help, Your Highness."
"Now that we have a relatively peaceful time, how can we dare to be ungrateful easily? I know His Highness's intentions are for my own good. But if I follow His Highness to the Eastern Capital, how can I protect myself? I can only protect myself. She has become cautious in her words and deeds, and is careful in everything she does. Can Twelve Mothers bear to be like this?"
"Actually, I can also... try to protect Wan'er." Li Twelve hesitated after hearing this, and then said with a determined expression: "I can also ask my father and mother to grant you and your mother the corresponding official positions. , fame, as long as you can..."
"That will only harm my mother and me! If virtue is not matched, there will be disaster! How can there be fame and wealth for no reason in this world?" The girl sighed to her: "My mother and I have no merit. He who has no virtue and suddenly becomes wealthy is nothing more than a despised and lucky minister, and it is not in line with my original intention."
"What's more, the Twelve Mothers are at an age when they need someone to take care of them. Even if they can take care of me for a while, how can they take care of me for the rest of their lives? If you insist on forcefully, you will only continue to wear away each other's patience and friendship in trivial matters. In the end, there will be trouble. If we are both disgusted with each other, why bother?"
"Is it impossible to think about it?" After hearing this, even if Li Twelve was slow to understand, he still understood the key point; and shed tears on the spot and said: "I... I... really can't bear to be with Wan'er. Parting, let alone saying goodbye today, how many chances will we have to see each other again?"
"Then please study hard, keep improving yourself, and no longer be easily restricted and influenced by others." The girl cried for her again and said: "I will continue to work hard, have the ability to protect myself and my loved ones, and serve His Highness. In this way, we will naturally meet again in the future.”
"Perhaps Wan'er is right...I was too presumptuous." Hearing this, Li Twelve also held back his tears, but secretly made some kind of determination in his heart: "I almost missed it when I went out without authorization before. If your life is gone, how can you implicate others. But it won’t make you wait too long.”
"Actually, what if it's thousands of miles across Dongdu and Shangjing?" The girl said calmly and relieved: "As long as we still cherish each other, even if we use swan geese to send letters, we can continue to be sympathetic; there is no need to insist on it. Are you stuck in spending time together day and night?"
"This is little Ji, just think of it as the incarnation of a slave." Then, she mentioned the cage made of silver wire and said: "Take good care of it, and you can accompany it as a slave for a while. If you are unhappy or confused, Just talk to it, as if the slave is still by your side."
