Wei Zhongxian served Tianqi and finished the meal, then left the palace and returned to the house outside the palace.
"Godfather, Mr. Gu Ge has been waiting for you for a long time." He said to Wei Zhongxian while helping Wei Zhongxian get out of the sedan.
Wei Zhongxian nodded and said, "Let's go and meet Mr. Gu Ge at home."
Zhang Shun walked in front to lead the way for Wei Zhongxian.
There is a side hall in the house specially used for entertaining guests. Zhang Shun brought Wei Zhongxian to the side hall.
"See Wei Daguan."
Gu Bingqian, who was guarding the side hall, saw Wei Zhongxian entering the courtyard. He stood up from his seat first and guarded the door of the side hall until Wei Zhongxian entered the room.
Wei Zhongxian, who was holding a heater in his hand, walked to the main seat, sat down, and then said: "Mr. Gu, please sit down quickly. You are the elder, so there is no need to salute our family."
"Without the recommendation of Senior Official Wei in front of the Holy Majesty, Xianguan would not be where he is today. Xianguan will always remember Senior Official Wei's kindness in his heart." Gu Bingqian said with a smile.
At the same time, people also sat back in their seats.
"Our family just likes people like Mr. Gu Ge who know how to be grateful." Wei Zhongxian was very satisfied with Gu Bingqian's attitude, and then said, "Fortunately, Mr. Gu Ge stood up for our family today, otherwise we might have been beaten by Han Xu. The old man is full."
Gu Bingqian leaned forward slightly and said: "The lower officials also couldn't understand that Han Xu and the others deliberately deceived the Holy Emperor about Datong. It can even be said that Han Xu should bear the main responsibility for the defeat of Datong. If he hadn't despised the bandits too much, he would have Datong will not be in such a passive situation today."
"The emperor said, let Han Xu find a way to deal with the bandits in Datong." Wei Zhongxian picked up the bowl sent by Zhang Shun, put it to his mouth and blew in the hot air inside.
Gu Bingqian asked nervously: "Can your Majesty allow the soldiers and horses from Liaodong to go to Datong to quell the rebellion?"
"Hmph, slave thieves are the emperor's most trusted concern. How can it be possible to dispatch soldiers and horses from Liaodong to Datong to quell the rebellion? Don't worry! Han Xu and the others can't even think of taking any of their soldiers away from Liaodong." Wei Zhongxian looked sarcastic.
Gu Bingqian said: "I didn't expect that this tiger-character flag would force Datong to ask for help from the imperial court. In this way, as long as there are no soldiers and horses from Liaodong to Datong to quell the rebellion, and only the soldiers and horses from the surrounding prefectures, I am afraid it will be very difficult for a while. It’s hard to take down these gangsters.”
"This is a good thing." Wei Zhongxian took a sip of tea and continued, "Han Xu failed in suppressing the bandits, and Mr. Gu Ge will have the opportunity to take a further step."
Gu Bingqian shook his head slightly and said: "Even if there is no Han Xu and there is Zhu Guozhen, the second assistant, the position of chief assistant will not fall to the official for a while."
"Don't worry, without Han Xu, only Zhu Guozhen is left in the cabinet. He can't stand alone and won't last long." Wei Zhongxian smiled softly.
Gu Bingqian laughed together.
When he first entered the cabinet, the Donglin Party was very powerful in the cabinet, and he had almost no say in the cabinet. In today's cabinet, since Ye Xianggao resigned from the position of chief minister, the Donglin Party has been unable to be a member of the cabinet. Dominate.
Although he was neither the first assistant nor the second assistant, because he had the support of Wei Zhongxian behind him, he already had a certain say in the cabinet, and many officials in the court also defected to him.
It can be said that his power in the court has greatly increased now. He is no longer dependent on Wei Zhongxian for everything when he first joined the cabinet.
After taking reassurance from Wei Zhongxian, Gu Bingqian left Wei Zhongxian's house happily.
After leaving the house and sitting on his own sedan, he was still imagining what it would be like when he sat on the throne as the chief minister of the cabinet.
The situation between North Korea and China is no longer what it was two years ago.
The Donglin Party has lost the emperor's trust, and Wei Zhongxian has become the emperor's most trusted person. Courtiers from the Donglin Party either choose to defect from the Donglin Party and join Wei Zhongxian, or they are squeezed out of the center of power.
As soon as all the ministers from the Zhongzong Lin Party in the cabinet have resigned, it will be time to liquidate officials from the Zhongzong Lin Party in the DPRK.
This time is already very close.
"Master, let's go back home?" A servant of the Gu family standing by the sedan asked Gu Bingqian in the sedan.
Gu Bingqian, who was sitting in the sedan, said: "No, go to the palace. The cabinet must be very busy today. I have to be present at such an important moment."
Only in the cabinet could he know for the first time how Han Xu and others dealt with the bandits in Datong. Moreover, such a big thing happened in Datong. As the cabinet minister, he could not stay out for a long time.
The bearers carried the sedan staggering towards the palace gate.
Han Xu returned to his office in Wenyuan Pavilion from Qianqing Palace. Not long after dinner, Zhu Guozhen walked in angrily from outside.
"Wenyu, what's going on? Why is your face so ugly?" Han Xu asked Zhu Guozhen to his seat and asked the middle school roommate to make a cup of tea for Zhu Guozhen.
Zhu Guozhen said with a livid face: "Did you know that the number of troops and horses on the books of the Ministry of War is far more than what we know. If we really mobilize the troops and horses according to the number of people on the books, I am afraid that the number will be less than 30%."
"I thought it was something big. This kind of thing didn't happen in a day or two. Why should you be angry about it?" Han Xu comforted.
Zhu Guozhen's face was still ugly and he said: "Did you know that the military's food and salary will be distributed according to the number of people on the book every time. If this continues, how can the national treasury not be empty? All the money will be eaten up by those who handle it."
"I have known this for a long time, but if you want to change it, it cannot be done overnight. The top priority is to solve the problems in Datong first. When the government is stable, it will not be too late for us to sort out these." Han Xu advised.
But he knew that this kind of matter could not be solved at all, because it involved not only the generals below, but also countless civilian officials.
Even as soon as the army's food and salary comes out of the Ministry of Household Affairs, it will be less than half of the actual amount on the books. The shortfall will naturally be divided up and down by the Ministry of Household Affairs.
There are too many people involved in the matter of empty wages, and even he, the first assistant, does not dare to lift the lid. Not only that, he also has to keep the lid closed.
Zhu Guozhen sighed and said, "Don't try to persuade me. I understand all these things. It's just that it hurts me to see so much money and food being wasted by those moths."
"As long as the rebellion in Datong is put down, everything will get better." Han Xu said.
Zhu Guozhen nodded slightly, and then asked: "The Holy Emperor summoned you to Qianqing Palace, why did you do it?"
"The Holy One learned about the defeat of the two frontier armies of Xuanda and Datong in Datong. He was very unhappy and ordered me to put down the rebellion as soon as possible." Han Xu told Tianqi the purpose of summoning him.
Zhu Guozhen said: "I don't blame the Holy Spirit for being anxious. It is true that Datong is not as good as Liaodong. There are not many passes to defend. Once the rebels occupy Xuanda, Zhili will be in danger."
"The Holy One has agreed to send soldiers and horses from Yulin Town to Datong to quell the rebellion." Han Xu said.
Zhu Guozhen frowned and said, "I didn't mean to dispatch a troop of troops from Liaodong to suppress the rebellion. Why did we send troops from Yulin Town?"
"When I went to Qianqing Palace to see the Holy Emperor, I saw Wei Wei." Han Xu said with a bad expression.
Snapped!
Zhu Guozhen slapped his hand on the table and said bitterly: "The eunuch is harming the country!"
