Early the next morning, the Nanning Hou Mansion quietly sent someone to Chen Ju's residence outside the palace to deliver a proposed garrison plan for Kunning Palace. The plan was extremely rigorous and required nearly a thousand soldiers, divided into six shifts and three batches day and night.
It can be understood this way: these nearly a thousand soldiers must be divided into three groups, and each group must rotate two shifts every day. Obviously, this is taking into account issues such as rotation fatigue and meals.
In addition to Liu Xin, Gao Wuzheng and Gao Wuruo, the Military Affairs Section of the Beijing Secretariat did not have other staff members, and these people were the ones who actually formulated the details of the garrison proposal. This also shows to a large extent that Gao Pragmatic has achieved considerable success in vigorously promoting institutional construction in recent years.
Within the Jinghua system, since there are not many constraints from the old system, high and pragmatic requirements can strongly promote implementation, so this kind of success is even more natural.
Chen Ju sent his cronies to the house in the morning to obtain the advice, and then asked people to start making defensive changes according to the advice. He also sent a message to "Seventeen" who had followed him to his residence last night, saying that if there were any difficulties in the plan, he would go back to the residence to ask for advice during his break after serving the emperor's lunch.
There is no need to elaborate on these things one by one, but it is not an easy day for Li Wenjin, the eunuch in charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor. Although two hundred thousand taels was really a huge amount of money, he found that this money was not easy to earn.
Kunning Palace itself is very large, and it is already very troublesome to figure out how many people are deployed to defend where. As a result, Kunning Palace is still working in batches, and the complexity has become even higher.
Li Wenjin pretended to pass by in the morning to observe, but found that he couldn't understand, so he mobilized several palace confidants to observe one side in four directions. But this was not much better, because it was not until night that they came to a very ominous conclusion: the Kunning Palace garrison did not change shifts at the same time, but seemed to have arranged several or a dozen areas, in sequence. Rotate in order.
But the problem is that although this rotation sequence should theoretically have a certain pattern, judging from today's actual situation, it is not clear what the pattern is.
Li Wenjin wanted to notify Guangjinfang of the situation casually, but after the news was sent, Guangjinfang was not satisfied with it. They believed that such an investigation was not detailed and clear enough, and asked for a more accurate time or pattern of changing of the guard. , otherwise it would be "difficult for them to repay the remaining silver."
Well, yes, they paid one hundred thousand taels in cash from the Federal Reserve on the spot yesterday, but Li Wenjin later requested double the amount - that is, another one hundred thousand taels. Although they agreed, they had to wait until they received all the arrangements and It will only be given after it is confirmed to be true, which is equivalent to paying the balance.
Li Wenjin didn't think this request was difficult at the time, and he wasn't worried that the other party would dare to break his promise after he did it, so he agreed without hesitation. Who would have thought that we would be faced with such a problem today? I sent so many confidants there, but I still couldn't figure out the rules of shift change.
However, Li Wenjin was not discouraged. His power in the palace was deep enough. If he couldn't figure it out today, he would continue tomorrow. If there were not enough people today, he would send more people tomorrow. In short, he has to settle the final payment. How can he let the duck fly away!
In fact, there was an objective reason why Li Wenjin's people couldn't figure out the garrison on this first day. That is, the Jing army assigned by Chen Ju did not do a very good job on this day, and many time points were a bit confusing.
This can't be entirely blamed on them. After all, the Pure Army is not the Imperial Guard. In front of a truly elite army, they can only be regarded as rotten fish and shrimps. It is really difficult for them to get up and down shifts.
In addition, the plan formulated by the Secretariat is very complicated. How complicated is it? Not only are there clear requirements for rotation in a certain area at a certain time, but there are also detailed plans including which way those who come for rotation should take, and which way those who come for rotation should take to leave, etc. .
From the Jingjun's point of view, this was simply a deliberate attempt to mess with them. Most of the Jingjun who participated in the garrison were confused, which naturally delayed the timeline.
The "chaos" in Kunning Palace was also learned by the emperor. Zhu Yijun called Chen Ju to him after dinner and asked him what the Kunning Palace guards were doing today. Not to mention the chaos, it seemed that it had increased significantly. manpower?
Fortunately, Chen Ju had already thought about how to answer this question. He first told the emperor frankly that he and Liu Ping visited the Nanning Marquis last night.
Zhu Yijun was indeed attracted by these words and asked them what they were doing. Chen Ju said that they mainly went to ask the Marquis if there was any clear explanation of the specific arrangements for Nanyang Imperial Village. They also wanted to know if there was any public opinion in the outer court after the birth of the emperor's legitimate son.
Coincidentally, the emperor was also very concerned about these two things. He immediately praised Chen Ju and Liu Ping for being sensible, and then asked Gao Pingshi what his answer was and why you caused so much trouble to Kunning Palace today.
Chen Ju answered one by one, first explaining some of the arrangements for the Nanyang Imperial Mansion that Gao Pangshi had already explained to Liu Ping, which basically dispelled the emperor's concerns.
Then he said that the discussions about the birth of the emperor's legitimate son were generally positive, but he also found that some people's faces dropped as soon as they heard about it. Chen Ju said that he and Liu Ping were very worried about this and that something unexpected might happen, so they planned to strengthen the defense of Kunning Palace and briefly talked about the current defense situation.
Zhu Yijun immediately came to his senses and asked, "But Rixin thinks your defense arrangements are insufficient?"
Chen Ju smiled bitterly and said: "It's more than just a shortcoming! We were not afraid of the emperor's punishment. Although the two servants did not dare to tell everything at that time, they gave a general summary. Who knows that in the eyes of the marquis, these defenses are full of flaws."
Zhu Yijun was startled at first, but he calmed down immediately and nodded: "That's right. In the eyes of a famous commander like Rixin who has won every battle, if your defense arrangements can be considered foolproof, then that's it." ghost."
After a pause, under Chen Ju's wry smile, Zhu Yijun asked again: "Then what? Did he teach you how to arrange and deploy the defense of Kunning Palace?"
Chen Ju replied: "The good Lord knows that the Lord Hou did not directly give instructions on how to defend Kunning Palace. He just explained to the two slaves how to defend the camp during the march, especially the area where the military tent is located. .
Moreover, the Marquis said that "soldiers are impermanent, and water is impermanent." He asked the two slaves to understand the essence of it by themselves. They must make arrangements based on the actual situation of Kunning Palace and not copy it mechanically. "
Although these words sounded like it meant that the previous work of Chen Ju and others was a mess, Zhu Yijun was not angry but happy, and said with a smile: "This is a secret that can't be exchanged for a thousand pieces of gold. You two owe Rixin a lot." What a great love."
"Yes, yes, what the emperor sees is very true." Chen Ju said hurriedly: "But this is also because the defense of Kunning Palace is very important at the moment. The marquis did this mainly out of loyalty to the emperor, the empress and the young master. The two slaves just meet at the right time..."
"Oh, so this favor is owed to me?"
Chen Ju's face stiffened and he quickly added: "Your Majesty is joking. If the Marquis is doing this just for the two slaves, it is naturally a favor, but since he is doing it for the Tian family, it is not called a favor, but a public loyalty to the country. .”
Zhu Yijun chuckled lightly, waved his hand and said: "Okay, okay, keep talking - since Rixin has taught you what to do, why is it such a mess today?"
"This..." Chen Ju Haoran said: "Your Majesty, forgive me, how can the Pure Army be compared with the elites trained by the Marquis himself? The deployment methods of the Marquis may be better among the elites of the Imperial Guards and Nine Sides." It's like using an arm to make a point, and giving orders and prohibitions, but the Jing Army has never had any similar training, so it would be a bit confusing to suddenly follow suit."
Zhu Yijun seems to accept this statement, but the focus has changed. He pondered for a moment and then asked: "You just said that Rixin discovered that some people in the outer court became ashen-faced when they heard the news of the birth of the emperor's legitimate son?"
"Yes, that's what the Marquis said."
"Who are there?" Zhu Yijun asked again.
"This... the Marquis didn't elaborate, and the two servants didn't dare to ask more questions at the time." Chen Ju replied carefully.
In fact, this answer is very clever, because the "two slaves" are theoretically not allowed to interfere in politics, and Gao Pragmatic, as a cabinet minister in the DPRK, especially if he may succeed as the first minister in the near future, then he should also be "not allowed to communicate." "Eunuch", so it is natural that "the Marquis did not elaborate".
Sure enough, although Zhu Yijun frowned slightly, he quickly showed his face and nodded: "You ask him how to defend Kunning Palace, and he is willing to teach you some methods without mentioning the word 'Kunning Palace'. You are worried that someone in the outer court will jump over the wall...right?"
Chen Ju did not dare to agree and only said: "Well...I dare not say that. It's just that the status of the empress and the emperor's son is of great importance, so we should always be careful not to make any big mistakes no matter what."
Zhu Yijun didn't answer immediately. He walked and pondered for a moment before saying: "That's it, you should practice the Kunning Palace garrison according to the method Rixin taught you. You should learn its spirit and not just its form. After that, you should also supervise and train it again. Jingjun, please don’t do the same thing as before.”
"Yes, the emperor's lesson is correct, and I will obey the order." Chen Ju immediately replied.
He was just thinking that today's conversation was about to end, and was thinking about whether he should resign, but who knew that Zhu Yijun suddenly asked: "Chang Luo, what happened today?"
Chen Ju was startled when he heard this, and said awkwardly: "This... I'd like to report to the emperor, I was so busy today that I forgot about this matter. I'm going to die."
Zhu Yijun frowned as expected, but looked at Chen Ju and thought that he had to rearrange the defense of Kunning Palace according to high pragmatic standards today. This was indeed a bit difficult for him as an eunuch who was not familiar with military matters, so he ignored it. When it comes to other things, it’s not better to seek perfection and blame.
"Remember it first." Zhu Yijun said, "You go down first and call Wang An by the way."
Chen Ju agreed. He knew what was going on with the eldest son of the emperor today, and he should have asked Wang An, the admiral of the East Factory and the eldest companion of the eldest son of the emperor.
By the time Wang An arrived, Chen Ju had already left for a long time.
At this time, Wang An was only in his early thirties. At such an age, he had already reached such an important position as the admiral of Dongchang. Many people regarded him as Chen Ju's successor.
Although succession ultimately depends on the emperor's attitude, Chen Ju's position is stable and he is on good terms with Gao Pragmatic. Once Chen Ju really wants to retire, the emperor will definitely ask him who he recommends as his successor, and he may also ask Gao Pragmatic. Therefore, Wang An's chances Undoubtedly still the biggest.
[Note: In theory, the matter of who will take over as the Chief of Ceremony has nothing to do with the outer court, but in fact it is not necessarily certain. For example, Gao Gong recommended Meng Chong back then, and pushed Feng Bao, who was theoretically higher, down, making Feng Bao fear and hate Gao Gong. ]
Although Wang An is young, his health has indeed not been very good. Not only is he quite thin, but his face also has a sallow complexion. Fortunately, he is in good spirits and has a straight waist.
He was the admiral of Dongchang and a close servant. He quickly went to the palace to pay his respects. Zhu Yijun didn't say much. When they met, he asked, "How is Chang Luo feeling today?"
"The eldest son of the emperor today..." Wang An considered his words and said, "A little uneasy."
"Is it 'slightly'?" Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows and looked at Wang An: "I didn't know that Chang Luo has already made such a profound effort in cultivating qi. It seems that your great contribution is not small."
The emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not always call themselves "I" in ordinary times. Once they did, it was a clear and unmistakable expression that they were talking about official matters as emperors.
Wang An also knew that there was a pitfall in this question, but at this moment he had to answer it directly: "I tell you, the emperor, the way of heaven has its own destiny. The eldest son of the emperor cannot violate it, let alone change it. What can he do besides being a little uneasy? I think this is the way to go." It’s reasonable, so please give me a clear warning.”
"So, in your opinion, why is he uneasy?" Zhu Yijun glanced sideways at Wang An and said, "Although he is the eldest son, he is not the prince after all, so why should he be uneasy?"
This is simply a matter of not opening which pot, and it can even be said that you are asking questions knowingly.
From Wang An's point of view, the dispute over the country's foundation has been going on several times. If Gao Pragmatic hadn't made it clear every time that he wanted to wait for the Queen to give birth to a legitimate son, the eldest son might have become the crown prince by now.
And even if he failed to become the prince, since a large number of officials had expressed support for the eldest son to be the prince during the previous dispute over the country, the emperor would definitely have some ideas.
Now that the emperor's legitimate son is born and the eldest son's dream of becoming a prince has basically come to an end, then we have to worry about the things that happened back then being brought up again. If we take a longer view, we also have to worry about being persecuted after the new emperor takes the throne. How can he possibly do that? Not uneasy?
Wang An smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, the eldest son of the emperor had to face the 'parental document' of the third son of the emperor before, and will face the 'legitimacy' of the emperor's legitimate son in the future. Even though he did not have any intention, there have been many foreign affairs over the years. The courtiers pushed him to the forefront. How can he be as safe as a rock to this day? At least, he could always be a carefree prince and a wealthy and idle man. "
Zhu Yijun frowned at first, but gradually, he seemed to feel a little emotional. Perhaps he had a feeling that although his eldest son was not lovable, he was still his son after all.
Although the world cannot give it to him, a life of freedom and wealth should be given to him, right?
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