Chapter 94: Feng Sheng came incognito
He Xi was very surprised by Feng Sheng's arrival.
Nominally, Feng Sheng was He Xi's boss, in charge of the entire northern front, and ranked as a general, just below Xu Da. Every move of such an important minister will attract the attention of all parties. Let alone leaving Peiping. According to normal procedures, if Feng Sheng wants to come to Liaodong, he must notify him first, and then someone will act as a forerunner, and there will be at least a thousand troops to guard him. Along the road, someone will notify him everywhere he goes.
But what is the situation now?
When He Xi came home from get off work, he suddenly heard a man coming to visit, holding a token from the Duke of Song Dynasty. He Xi thought Feng Sheng had some letters and immediately met him, but what he actually saw was Feng Sheng dressed in coarse linen clothes.
He Xi was shocked and immediately stepped back and whispered: "Song Guogong, you are here suddenly, does your Majesty know?"
Feng Sheng said: "I didn't know it at first, but when I left Peiping, I probably knew it. Don't worry."
He Xi said: "What big thing happened that required you to come here suddenly?"
He Xi knew how much political risk there would be if important ministers like them were handed over through abnormal channels. He Xi believed that Zhu Yuanzhang would not take action against him. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang knew He Xi's details best. But Feng Sheng is different.
He Xi knew Feng Sheng's fate in history. He also didn't want Feng Sheng to end badly.
Feng Sheng said: "My dear nephew, do you know how old I am? I'm going to be seventy soon. In the past few years, when running in the snow, I only felt that my limbs were stiff and unable to bend. I had to soak them in warm water for a long time before I could move." I have consciousness. As for going into battle to kill the enemy, I can't even fire a hunting bow. What can I do when I'm old? I can still serve as a general for a few more years. In a few years, even if your majesty shows mercy, I I have to go back to my hometown to recuperate. My life up to now is considered complete and I have nothing else to ask for. There is only one thing that I deeply regret not having a beginning and an end."
He Xi said: "Did the Duke say ------?"
Feng Sheng gritted his teeth and said: "To destroy the Yuan Dynasty, my father and brother and I set up an army to drive out the Tartars. Over the past thirty years, countless members of the Feng family have died at the hands of the Tartars. As for now, I have no children, and I don't think about the future. This matter cannot be settled, and I don’t know what I should say when I see my father and brother after I go down.”
"I came here incognito today, and I only ask for one thing, and that is to ask Nephew He to teach me how to get His Majesty to decide on the Northern Expedition? Now the remaining Yuan is as small as a spark, and can be extinguished by blowing a bomb. But the centipede will die but not freeze. , as time goes by, it is inevitable that the dead will not resurrect, allowing the enemy in one life, and causing trouble for several generations. Is my nephew really willing to do this? "
He Xi was inevitably a little moved when he heard what Feng Sheng said so sincerely.
But being moved is a move, and emotional changes cannot influence He Xi's decision-making.
With these old foxes, there is no need to talk about relationships without fear of being played to death.
He Xi believed that Feng Sheng's feelings were true. But again, He Xi was determined not to believe that Feng Sheng's promotion of the Northern Expedition was just out of this hatred and emotion. No politician can be completely emotional.
Of course, there was a big difference between He Xi and Feng Sheng in their views on the Can Yuan court. That is to look at the war threat of Can Yuan.
In Feng Sheng's view, foreign aggression on the grasslands has almost never been eliminated since ancient times. Naturally, we must be vigilant. The Mongols regained their strength and became a country like the Huns and Turks. But from He Xi's point of view, that's not the case. When weapons such as gunpowder, muskets, and artillery are maturely used, the era will come when nomads can sing and dance well.
This is independent of human will.
Therefore, from He Xi's point of view, he had no intention of putting much effort into Can Yuan.
The two of them had different ideas and had already made two different choices.
However, Feng Sheng did one thing right. If anyone could have influence on Zhu Yuanzhang during the Northern Expedition, it was He Xi.
Therefore, Feng Sheng took all kinds of risks and came to see He Xi. He just wanted to communicate with He Xi and persuade him to support his Northern Expedition plan.
And Feng Sheng was also prepared to pay the price, that is, after the Northern Expedition, regardless of success or failure, he would ask Zhu Yuanzhang to become an official. On the one hand, he is indeed older. Can't stand the devastation of war. On the other hand, Feng Sheng knew Zhu Yuanzhang very well. I also know the suspicion embedded in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.
He felt himself retreating. It can also make Zhu Yuanzhang feel at ease.
The premise is to let him complete his life's most ambitious achievement, to destroy this imperial eclipse.
He Xi said, "My lord, it's not that I don't help your lord. It's just that I don't have any say in this matter."
Feng Sheng said: "No, you have the final say. Maybe many people in Nanjing don't know what kind of person you are, He Xi. But how could I not know that six million taels, in the hands of others, can defeat Japan? It's not enough. But in your hands, it's not like this. Although I'm not in Liaodong, what happened in Liaodong? It's not that I don't know."
"First, transport one million stones of grain from Liaodong out of Changchun Fort and into about three hundred miles north of Zhaozhou. Can't you do it?"
"Don't Liaodong have the pay for one hundred thousand cavalry?"
"As for the supply of ordnance, can Liaodong not be able to do that?"
"It can be said that as long as the court agrees, one hundred thousand cavalry can be assembled at Changchun Fort within a month. Or do you think that while supporting one hundred thousand cavalry to leave the country, you cannot support the Japanese battlefield? I am not too clear about the situation in Japan, but From what I can see now, Fu Youde got a big bargain."
"Don't say next year, it's very likely that this year will be a decisive victory."
"If you want to do these things, you can do them."
He Xi was silent for a while, and he thought secretly for a while. Suddenly I realized that Feng Sheng was right. What Feng Sheng said was supporting two wars at the same time. It's not that he can't do it, the main thing is that Feng Sheng wants to destroy the residual Yuan, not occupy and develop the Northeast region.
The resources used by the two are different.
In addition, with the opening of the Liaosong Canal, shipyards across Liaodong already have many river ships. Under such circumstances, the cost of supporting operations on the northeastern plains has been greatly reduced.
More importantly, maybe Feng Sheng doesn’t understand what industrialization is? But Feng Sheng is the one who knows the output of Liaodong’s products best. Although the steam engine is still under difficult development. But big factories, cooperation, division of labor. Progress in technological innovation and other aspects. Let Liaodong's industrial population already number in the hundreds of thousands. Although less than a million. But the productivity exploded. Enough to support two wars.
Moreover, He Xi doesn’t know where Liaodong’s production capacity will reach after this round of investment to expand production.
However, it is not difficult to support at least a Northern Expedition against the Yuan Dynasty.
He Xi said: "My lord, this is just your guess."
Feng Sheng said: "That means you have to wait until Japan has a great victory before deciding to support the Northern Expedition?"
He Xi said: "I never said such a thing."
Feng Sheng said, "Then I won't beat around the bush. Why are you willing to support the Northern Expedition?" At this point, Feng Sheng's face also looked a little angry.
As the Duke of the country, Feng Sheng was He Xi's elder and his boss. He came all the way to see He Xi regardless of his superiority or inferiority. Under such circumstances, He Xi still refused to give face. Feng Sheng was naturally angry. More importantly, Feng Sheng could not understand He Xi at all.
In Feng Sheng's eyes, the two countries of Korea and Japan were tied together, and neither could compare to Beiyuan.
Why did He Xi focus on fighting in the east corner instead of completing the biggest political task since the founding of the Ming Dynasty and destroying the Yuan Dynasty?
It's simply unreasonable.
Of course, Feng Sheng has never seen any ups and downs over the years, and he will not be angry because of this incident. The reason why he was angry was because he felt he should be angry. In this matter, he could not get He Xi's support, which meant that the two sides were going to be on opposite sides.
Feng Sheng had reservations before because he felt that after the defeat of Goryeo, he would switch to the Northern Expedition. But he never thought about it forever. Now that he was thinking about his family fortune in the north, he could actually take care of both. I want both parties to take a step back and make a compromise decision.
But what if, Feng Sheng has already reached this point. He Xi still didn't buy it.
Feng Sheng was determined not to give up. Let people know that Feng's face is not so easy to lose.
