Feng Ziying sighed, "Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. It is natural for Wen Ruo to choose to go to the Ministry of War. At present, the imperial court is in a difficult situation and there are serious internal and external troubles. What the Ministry of War needs to face is the most difficult urgent matter. Wen Ruo can go to the Ministry of War. I can breathe a sigh of relief."
If others said such things, Yang Sichang could accept it calmly, but he would not dare to be so arrogant when facing Feng Ziying.
"Ziying, logically you should go to the Ministry of War. Why don't you and I both go to the Ministry of War and work together to do something?"
The five people here are all second-generation officials. Hou Xun and Hou Ke's father are the ministers of Taipu Temple, and Shen Zizheng's father is the prefect of Dongchang Prefecture. Therefore, they are somewhat unsure about bragging about their whereabouts in advance. Son, I don't care.
"Everywhere you go, you are working for the imperial court. It is enough for the weak to leave the Ministry of War. And I guess at least one of Da Zhang and Fei Xiong will stay in the Ministry of War, right? We can't all the people in this department go to the Ministry of War, right?" Feng Ziying smiled and said: "As for where I want to go, I would like to go down to the place and do some work."
"What? Go to the place?" Feng Ziying's words made four people, including Yang Sichang, Shen Zizheng and others, in disbelief.
Yang Sichang was thinking that if Feng Ziying didn't want to go to the Ministry of War, there must be a better place to go, such as the Ministry of Civil Affairs or the Metropolitan Procuratorate. After all, Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia were there to take care of him. Unexpectedly, Feng Ziying actually wanted to go there.
This is simply the worst choice. Anyone who has the opportunity to stay in the capital city would be willing to go to another place, and going to another place is basically the choice of top three Jinshi, and almost no second place Jinshi chooses to go, let alone Feng Ziying. I entered the Hanlin Academy in advance and obtained the status of editor. How did I choose where to go?
This is not as good as the later generations who went to local posts for training. They could go back in two or three years and be promoted to a higher level. Now they are real local officials. They strictly follow the local assessment, and seniority and performance will become important basis. .
Moreover, the performance of local officials is also greatly affected by their superiors, and they are far from being as easily noticed by important ministers as they are in the court.
"Ziying, why do you want to go to this place?" Hou Xun asked first. Although he did not want to specialize in one line of business like Yang Sichang, he was more sensitive to the changes in the current situation in the DPRK. "Is it the strategy of opening up the sea that you proposed? Relatedly, I heard from my father that the scholars in the North had some opinions on the strategy of opening up the sea, and thought that the North would suffer a great loss..."
"Well, Brother Ruogu said there are some factors in this regard, but they are not the main ones. The benefits from the strategy of opening up the sea are immediate. The court has benefited, and the south has also gained more opportunities. The benefits from the north are indeed not something that can be achieved in a short time. It may take three to five years to see me, but you can't sell me out just because of this court, right? It's still okay to leave me in the Hanlin Academy, or send me to a place like the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment to cool off. Bar?"
Feng Ziying smiled, very magnanimously.
"The main reason is that I want to go out and get acquainted with the actual situation of the counties, and see what problems we have in these counties, why there are so many natural and man-made disasters every year, whether it is due to the lack of good governance or lack of public security. Jing, or the people's customs are not good, how to solve it..."
These words were a bit serious, and even Yang Sichang and the Hou brothers felt a little in awe.
If Feng Ziying really thinks this way, it can be said that he deserves the title of leader of young scholars in the North.
This is really a matter of concern for the world.
Shen Zizheng, on the other hand, didn't care. When he heard that Feng Ziying was really going to leave, he couldn't help but said, "Ziying, what will my sister do if you leave?"
None of them had thought that there was a brother-in-law hiding here. Feng Ziying thought for a while and said, "Of course your sister will follow me. I have told your sister as well."
Shen Zizheng was very depressed.
I don’t know what Feng Ziying is thinking. She just got married. She doesn’t cherish the good opportunity in the capital city, but she wants to think about a place to go. Do you really think that her parents will be an official here? And from what he said, she still wants to go to Fuzhou. If you go to the first level, you really have to go deep into the people.
"Ziying, this is a serious matter. You still need to think about it more. I'm afraid you won't be able to come back in a year and a half if this continues. The affairs of the lower counties are not like those in the court, which are complicated and trivial, and the local officials There are many unscrupulous people, and it is quite difficult to tame them, but without these people as helpers, it will be difficult to move forward in the local area."
Yang Sichang's words were sincere, and they were also a reminder to Feng Ziying not to act impulsively.
"Thank you very much for your concern Wen Ruo, I will think it over clearly." Feng Ziying was not willing to dwell on this issue, "But Wen Ruo went to the Ministry of War, and I am afraid I need to pay more attention to the dispute between the locals in the southwest. I think Bozhou is just a The fire started in Shuixi and Yongning. Maybe Shuixi and Yongning also had troubles of one kind or another. If the southwest area was like a spark, igniting all at once, it would probably endanger the safety of the entire Zhou Dynasty. Maybe Jianzhou Jurchen or Mongolia People and other people with ulterior motives are waiting for this opportunity."
Feng Ziying's words made everyone feel a little horrified. If the Jurchens and Mongols in Jianzhou thought this was an opportunity and gathered together to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty, then the Great Zhou Dynasty would really be in crisis.
Yang Sichang frowned, "Ziying, your prediction is really unpleasant. Is there any basis for it?"
"What basis do you need? The chieftains in the southwest are really in chaos. Can it be settled in a year and a half? We can all think of this. Do you think Nurhaci and the Mongols will react to this? Don’t you know anything? Don’t say that Jianzhou Jurchens and the Mongols don’t have spies in our capital city. Some spies later became insiders and even went deep into the homes of many of our princes and ministers. How could Long Jinwei not find out in any year? How many such characters are there? But I’m sure there are more who have not been found or discovered.”
Feng Ziying's cold words made Yang Sichang even more anxious. He couldn't help but protest: "Even if there is a problem in the southwest, it is impossible to mobilize the troops from all nine sides. Even if the Jurchens and Mongols want to carry out evil deeds, they cannot There will be a chance."
"Humph, these are just some of the things we have learned and discovered. Many things happened when we didn't expect it, so you were not prepared at all." Feng Ziying shook her head, "Wen Ruo, you should understand. Only when we understand can we calm down. Make up your mind to find countermeasures.”
Yang Sichang came to the house to pay New Year's greetings. He came excitedly, but ended up leaving with a heavy look on his face.
He thought he had discovered and controlled the changes in Bozhou in advance, but he did not expect that Feng Ziying actually said that there were abnormalities in Shuixi and Yongning, which made him unable to sit still.
In addition, Feng Ziying also "alarmistly" said that the Jurchens in Jianzhou were as likely to take advantage of the situation as the Mongols, which made him even more worried.
As a member of the Ministry of War, he entered the state quickly enough. He had already got into it before the court even started to study it.
The arrival of Yang Sichang also ruined Feng Ziying's good mood.
He knew that chaos would come sooner or later in the southwest, but he didn't expect it to come so soon. If the intelligence clues obtained by Yang Sichang were correct, the Bozhou rebellion might be imminent, and it could even break out at any time. He didn't know what Zhang Jingqiu and Chai Ke planned.
How's it going?
Sometimes this kind of thing does not depend on the determination and attitude of both parties, but on some subtle factors that no one can predict, especially some unexpected small events, like a pile of dry grass.
An accidental spark can set it ablaze.
Just like when I predicted the Ningxia rebellion, it could be tomorrow, it could be next year, it could even be three years later, anything is possible.
As for the court, it is not even easy to make more moves to avoid irritating the other party to suddenly explode. After all, for the court, it is best to avoid it, and it is best to delay it if it cannot be avoided. It has already done a more complete job.
Prepare.
This bad mood lasted until the arrival of many classmates such as Fan Jingwen and He Fengsheng during the national affairs training, which relieved it a little.
By this time, every student was already considering arrangements for the end of the political observation period in a few months, and this gathering at Feng Ziying's home would undoubtedly become a discussion meeting.
Naturally, the small study room cannot accommodate the arrival of so many students. Fortunately, the East Mansion has already built a small garden at the back. There are also some buildings in the garden, such as a not-so-small greenhouse, which happens to be adjacent to the garden.
Connected by a verandah.
It is a rare treat to go back to the Nuang Pavilion and have a few drinks when your feet are freezing when the weather clears after snowfall and you can look at the snowy scene in the garden.
"Ziying, your little garden is quite unique. It's a little small, but it has a unique flavor. It has a pavilion, a corridor and a fishing platform, lush vegetation, stone paths covering the ground, and a specially dug small pond. It's very
It's a bit like picking chrysanthemums in the southeast. Why, the opening of the sea is still in the ascendant, and you plan to live in seclusion?" He Fengsheng teased Feng Ziying, "If you can't find a stone, it's like the common people. You have to use these words.
Come on?"
"Ke Yao, why don't you want me to have some free time? You just went to the south of the Yangtze River once, and I made two trips back and forth and one trip to Xijiang!"
Feng Ziying stared at He Fengsheng.
This guy became more active after returning from Jiangnan. Perhaps the special status of the Huguang scholars allowed them to get along with the Jiangnan scholars without attracting the resentment of the northern scholars. Guan Yingzhen probably also appreciated it.
This fellow student from Huguang, looking at his behavior, might really be left in the Zhongshu Department to become a scholar.
"Relaxation? Ziying, is it time for leisure now?" Fan Jingwen said angrily to Feng Ziying, "Opening the sea will be a great benefit to the south of the Yangtze River, but what about the north? What Denglai said is very good, and Prince Teng wants to leave from the court.
One million taels of silver, but the construction of the shipyard is progressing slowly, and there is no clue on how to build the naval fleet. I think this guy is another Li Chengliang!"
As the Jurchen Jurchen offensive against the Ula tribe in Jianzhou was contained, the relationship between the Chahar people and the Zhou Dynasty seemed to have improved. In addition, Shuerhaqi and his son were successfully rescued and fled to Heishanmu under the protection of Kaiyuanwei.
After Feng Tang raised the banner of Jianzhou Right Guard and became the governor of Jiliao and the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, it seemed that the situation in Liaodong had suddenly changed a lot, which made the criticism of Li Chengliang more and more fierce between the DPRK and China.
Even Li Chengliang himself, who had retired from illness and retired from office, felt uneasy and frequently apologized.
Apologizing now can be regarded as taking the initiative to admit his mistakes. If it waits until the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate start firing their bullets like crazy, it will be hard to say.
However, Feng Ziying knew from her father's letter that Liaodong generals, including her father, did not view Li Chengliang as one-sidedly accusing and criticizing him like the DPRK.
To be precise, my opinion of Li Chengliang is half and half.
We did a good job in the early stage, and we did make a lot of mistakes in the later stage, including some serious mistakes, but these mistakes also have a lot to do with the support of the court.
It was Li Chengliang's misstep to allow Nurhachi to unify the Jianzhou Jurchens. However, when the Jianzhou Jurchens annexed the Huifa and Hada tribes of the Haixi Jurchens, the imperial court did not give enough support to Liaodong. At that time, Li Chengliang had just returned to Liaodong for the second time after being idle for a long time.
When he took office in Liaodong, he had not yet fully taken control of Liaodong Town. This was also a big reason.
Of course, Li Chengliang made a big mistake in abandoning the Six Forts of Kuandian, but it was also closely related to the short-sightedness and weakness of Xiao Daheng, who was the Minister of War at the time. The responsibility cannot be entirely blamed on Li Chengliang alone.
If Xiao Daheng is to be held accountable, Emperor Yuan Xi, who has become the Supreme Emperor, and even several members of the cabinet at that time will also have to bear a great deal of responsibility.
"Mengzhang, your words are too absolute. Denglai was created from scratch. How can it be compared with military mansions such as Ji Liao or Xuanfu? Even the three sides are much stronger than Denglai. They are princes and soldiers.
, the civil affairs department may be a little weaker, but we will still not slack off in the construction of the life-and-death line between Denglai and Liaonan."
Feng Ziying defended Wang Ziteng a few words. Fan Jingwen's views were too extreme. Of course, this also represented the Northland scholars' growing dissatisfaction with the sea-opening strategy.
Feng Ziying has now become more and more aware that she has pretended to be a big boss, and it has indeed brought immediate and great benefits to the court. The emperor, the cabinet and even the six ministries are very satisfied with her, and her reputation is also great.
But as the halo slowly faded, some hidden problems began to be exposed.
You, a guy who is known as the young leader of the scholars in the North, actually came up with a strategy that greatly benefited Jiangnan. As for the benefits to the court, they were selectively ignored by the scholars in the North. That was not their concern.
, they only saw the excitement of the gentry and merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, but the gentry in the north got nothing.
Wang Xiangchun and others in their department have already publicly criticized themselves, and backbone scholars in the north such as Zhang Wuxu, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, Feng Shengming, the doctor of the Shandong Qing Dynasty Department of the Ministry of Justice, are also very enthusiastic about Feng Ziying's strategy of opening up the sea.
There are many criticisms, thinking that it has failed to bring benefits to the Northland.
This chapter has been completed!