While teachers and students Shen Yiguan and Qian Menggao were discussing matters in the flower hall in the backyard of Shen University Scholar's Mansion, matters were also being discussed in the Nanning Marquis Mansion.
"According to what the master said, the entire situation surrounding the palace seems to have not changed much, but in fact, the arrangements of all parties have turned into a mess?" Huang Zhiting frowned and said: "The emperor coughed up blood and fainted. , is it really just an accident?”
"It should be said that there was a conspiracy that was laid out in advance, but the person who laid it out didn't expect an accident today." Gao pragmatically pursed his lips and shook his head slightly: "If I hadn't made a mistake, this conspiracy should be Shen Jiaomen's. At this moment, he may also be thinking about how to do this."
Similar to the fact that there was only Qian Menggao in Shen Yiguan's house to discuss with him, there were only Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin in Gao Pragmatic's study. After he said these words, Liu Xin said: "What will he do? It's hard to say. I think it is more likely that he will find a way to hibernate first and see which way the wind blows before making any calculations."
"It depends on the direction of the wind?" Huang Zhiting snorted unhappily: "Isn't he afraid that the master will attack him immediately?"
Liu Xin smiled and said: "Madam, I never fight an unprepared battle. As the current de facto leader of the Heart School, Shen Jiaomen must have studied this thoroughly."
Huang Zhiting just disliked Shen Guanguan, so her words just now were of an angry nature. Of course she knew in her heart that Gao Wushi would not take action now. According to his habit as a husband, he has to plan everything in advance and never execute a major event immediately when an idea comes to him. This is not his style at all.
Therefore, Huang Zhiting did not argue, but said distressedly: "But with such a big change happening now, many previous preparations have been in vain..."
"It's not completely in vain." Gao Pingshi shook his head slightly and said: "Although from a timeline perspective, it is true that many of the original steps of the layout have been disrupted, in fact, most of them can still be used. Just a few things need to be adjusted in order.”
Huang Zhiting then asked: "For example?"
"For example, I originally didn't plan to touch Concubine Zheng while dealing with Zhu Changluo's threat. But as soon as today's incident happened, I had to change my plan. I had to start beating the emperor's beloved concubine to prevent her from being here. Interfering randomly at this time..."
Gao Pragmatic sighed: "After all, I didn't want her relationship to destroy the trust and tacit understanding between me and the emperor."
Speaking of the "trust and tacit understanding" with the emperor, Liu Xin frowned and asked thoughtfully: "Master, what is the emperor's attitude towards you now? I always have a feeling that he seems to be very conflicted now... …Sometimes it seems very trusting, and sometimes it seems doubtful.”
Huang Zhiting was also very concerned about this matter, so as soon as Liu Xin asked, she immediately stared at Gao Pragmatic, waiting to hear his answer.
"You must first understand that no matter how strong the friendship between me and the emperor is in the past, one thing cannot be changed: he is the king and I am the minister. No matter how good the personal relationship is, it cannot change this."
Gao pragmatically said calmly: "Therefore, when he feels that I will not pose a threat to him or the Ming Dynasty, he can completely trust me and maximize my abilities.
However, once he felt that I had the ability to threaten the imperial power - no matter whether I was really capable of threatening in my subjective consciousness, he had to be wary of it, and then began to have reservations about me in many things.
If this means that he no longer trusts me, I think this judgment is inaccurate. To be precise, he only felt that my power posed a threat to him, but did not think that I had the intention to betray him. "
Liu Xin pondered and did not speak immediately, but Huang Zhiting couldn't help but sigh, shook his head and said, "That's not good either. Master, I was once a 'local emperor' in the past, so I should have some understanding of the emperor's mentality. I understand, I wonder if the master is willing to listen to what I have to say?"
Gao Pingshi nodded with a smile and said, "Madam, please speak."
Huang Zhiting pondered for a moment and then said: "In the early years, my father was unwilling to take charge of the affairs for some reason, so I had no choice but to take over the affairs of the family and the clan. At that time, the place directly under the jurisdiction of my Huang family was Siming Mansion, and Ru Siming Prefecture , Jiangzhou, Silingzhou, Zhongzhou, Shangsizhou and other places, although they are all within the sphere of influence of our Huang family, the real power is in the hands of the branches of the same clan. If you want to carefully calculate, if the Huang family in Guangxi was very powerful at that time , then the main family accounts for 30% to 40%, and each branch family accounts for 60% to 70%.
But this is not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is that there are also problems with government affairs. In the early years, my father still wanted to cheer up, but he was also influenced by ethics and wanted to manage government affairs in a gentle way. Therefore, he respected the old people left behind by his grandfather and gave them great power, including military power.
Later, my father suffered a setback in politics and began to stop doing things. Over the past few years, all the power in the government was in the hands of Tumu and Tushe. When I took over, I discovered that there were only about three or four thousand troops under direct control, and military discipline was in disarray. Such soldiers could only be mobilized by the imperial court to fight against the people. If there was a civil war among the chieftains, they would almost certainly not be victorious.
Master, if you were in my concubine’s situation, what would you do? "
Gao Pragmatic thought for a while and said: "Reorganize the army first, and then find an opportunity to establish authority. After success, immediately take advantage of the opportunity to take back military power and subdue all the Tumu and Tushe in Siming Mansion who are not amenable to management."
"The master is indeed very wise, and I generally did the same thing at that time." Huang Zhiting said with a smile: "But my methods are naturally not as good as the master's, so I lacked the ability to establish my authority at that time, but... Well, in short, I He selected Huang Hu as the leader of the personal soldiers, then held a Hongmen Banquet, forcibly dismissed several old men from their posts, and appointed their sons to take over."
Gao Pangshi was a little surprised. This was the first time Liu Xin had heard about Huang Zhiting's early deeds. After hearing this, she couldn't help but wonder: "Won't this leave any consequences? After all, it's just replacing me with a son, so the power still remains." It’s in their hands.”
Huang Zhiting shook his head and said: "The inheritance of major chieftains is regulated by the imperial court. Generally, they have to follow the eldest son inheritance system. Occasionally, it depends on the attitude of Guangxi Fu and the two houses. But it is not the case under the chieftains. Who should succeed each Tumu? In one case, the Tumu family chooses themselves, but in another case, it is designated by the Tusi... In short, there is no saying that the eldest son must succeed."
Liu Xin wondered: "But this doesn't change that they are still father and son."
"So what?" Huang Zhiting shook his head and said: "Whoever gives them power will obey the orders of whomever. What's more, such new chieftains forcibly appointed by the chieftain often have many opponents within the family, so they We must obey the chieftain’s orders more, otherwise how can we suppress the family?”
When Huang Zhiting said this, Gao Pragmatic couldn't help but think: It turns out that Dai Ying's classic moves are not new in China! Isn't this exactly the same as the British method of always selecting a minority ethnic group as the ruling ethnic group in the colonies?
At this time, Liu Xin also understood, nodded and said: "I see, Madam is still smart."
"It's not that clever. Many chieftains from southwestern provinces have been passed down for hundreds of years. Such methods are not uncommon. As long as you are willing to understand, you are not afraid of finding precedents to imitate." Huang Zhiting said.
Liu Xin nodded and asked, "What's next?"
"The next step is to lay a solid foundation and continue to cut off the powerful Tumu and Tushe to ensure that the power directly under the Tusi can overwhelm everything."
Liu Xin pondered: "Who can control this direct power?"
"This question gets to the point, and it is exactly what I want to say." Huang Zhiting said solemnly: "Select the most capable subordinates from the Huang family's distant relatives, and then ensure that these forces are divided into at least two or three groups. , never give it to just one person.”
"Isn't the most trusted general under Madam Huang Hu?" Liu Xin asked: "It seems that I haven't heard of anyone else."
"Huang Hu is a distant relative of the Huang family, but he has been out of the fifth server for a long time, and before he was reused by me, not only was his family in decline, but he also had an enmity with an important person in the mansion." Huang Zhiting smiled slightly: "That person Tumu is also one of the important people I use."
Liu Xin also smiled and said, "I understand the balancing technique."
Huang Zhiting looked at Gao Pragmatic and said: "Master, I know that these principles are very simple to you. You just always thought that the emperor trusted you enough, so..."
"That's why I thought the emperor wouldn't use other people or other forces to check me?" Gao pragmatically shook his head gently: "Madam, it would be wrong to think so. I have never thought so."
Huang Zhiting was indeed a little surprised: "Really?"
"If I really thought so..." Gao Pingshi paused and seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally said calmly: "If I really thought so, how could Shen Changzhou, Wang Taicang and others end up wandering in the forest now? Not only do they have no chance of leaving office peacefully, they may even face a total failure ten years earlier.
Oh, by the way, do you think that it is really difficult for Jinghua to grow in Jiangnan because the foundation of the Xin School is deeply rooted in Jiangnan, and Jinghua cannot open up the situation no matter what?
Haha... It's a joke. The reason why Jinghua's expansion in Jiangnan has been repeatedly frustrated is not because the Xinxue School can really resist the new business model and Jinghua's powerful capital, but just because I need Jinghua to be frustrated in Jiangnan. "
Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin both looked shocked when they heard this. After a while, the two women looked at each other and asked in unison: "Is this for the emperor to see?"
Gao pragmatically spread his hands: "What else? If Beijing dominates the business world in the north and south, I will become Tao Zhugong of the Ming Dynasty, without even a single opponent?
Haha, if that were the case, no matter how close the emperor's personal relationship with me was, he would not be able to hint at some officials who had long disliked me, and then use their words to cause the whole court to fall. The emperor came out again to scold them and persuade me to stay, once, twice, three times...
No matter how many times, those people will never stop attacking me because they know who is supporting them against me. And in the end, the emperor would reluctantly make a compromise. While berating the few who danced the most happily, he accepted my resignation with "extreme regret". "
Huang Zhiting took a breath and said: "It turns out that I have been on guard for a long time. Even the Xin School has become a force in the court that can compete with the Real School. This is because I deliberately indulged it. This... …This really surprises me.”
Not to mention Huang Zhiting, even Liu Xin had never heard Gao Pangshi explain this matter. But now that Gao Pragmatic took the initiative to admit it, Liu Xin remembered that there were indeed clues to this situation.
For example, the so-called Jinghua's expansion in the Jiangnan region has been frustrated for many years. This sentence itself is very much a false proposition. why? Because Jinghua has developed well in several key areas in Jiangnan.
For example, whether it is the Shanghai Private Port or the Ningbo Private Port, they can overwhelm the Jiangnan Chaebol. The strange thing is that their power seems to have never been able to expand further and has always been compressed near the private port.
Now it seems that where it is impossible to expand, it is clear that Gao Pragmatic deliberately does not tilt resources to Jiangnan Earth, and must let them only use their own strength to fight the tug-of-war with the local Jiangnan chaebol - of course they can only protect themselves!
Once you figure out the reason, you will find that the most ingenious thing about Gao Pragmatic's move is that whenever he had sufficient funds in these years, he would always find trouble for Jinghua, making Jinghua "incapable of expanding its Jiangnan business."
For example, Jingang was built first, then Dingnan City, and then Tucheng and Longya (Singapore and Malacca) were built... In short, it gave people the illusion that Jinghua believed that Jiangnan was difficult to handle, so it would rather wreak havoc in southern Xinjiang. Don't bother investing in a head-on fight with the Jiangnan chaebol.
But who knew that all this was just Gao Pragmatic's deliberate action? He just deliberately kept the Heart School and the Jiangnan Plutocrats from opposing him. Keeping them, the Zexin School is the opponent of the Real School in the court, and the Jiangnan Chaobol is the opponent of Jinghua in the south of the Ming Dynasty.
Your Majesty, you see, I, Gao Pragmatic, always have "powerful" opponents to deal with.
But now that the situation is clear, Huang Zhiting now has questions: "In that case, why is the emperor still suspicious of the master this time?"
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "As I said just now, the root cause is not that the emperor is suspicious of me, but that it is objectively difficult for me to continue to disguise my strength. The reason why the emperor's attitude towards me seems very contradictory recently is, The reason is that while he believes in his heart that I will not have any ill intentions toward him, he has to be wary of my growing strength."
When he said this, he paused and asked: "Do you still remember the time when I voluntarily gave up my influence in Jinyiwei earlier? In fact, the situation at that time was similar to today."
At this time, Liu Xin fully understood what Gao Pragmatic meant, but instead she became curious and asked, "Is it that this time the master is also going to make some concessions in order to gain the emperor's peace of mind?"
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