The weather was still cold, but the peach blossoms covered with snow in the yard were in bloom. Lou Shuwan took the time to correct the mountains of papers on the table, only occasionally raising her head to relax her mind briefly. The blooming peach blossoms would make her
I think of Jiangnan, which has become a bit blurry, and the irresponsible life back then. It was so happy.
At a certain moment in the middle, I asked my maid Xiaoqiu to close the window and muttered something: "It's getting colder."
He rubbed his hands and continued to bury his head in the document.
A woman's body is always particularly afraid of the cold. Although in recent years, under the guidance of masters such as Shi Jin and Wang Juyun, she has also tried to practice some Qigong for physical fitness, her mind is too active and trivial, and it is difficult for her to become calm.
, although her body is now better than that of ordinary women after practicing, she still feels that the progress is too slow.
Is the gap between people so big? Who is that bastard Ning from the southwest? How did he train?
Although Shi Jin, Wang Juyun and others have carefully said that the martial arts of the southwest man may not be as high as the rumors, but when Lou Shuwan comes to think about it, the other party still has at least first-class skills in the arena, otherwise he was in Luliang Mountain back then.
, how dare he yell at Lin Zongwu like that. He has an active mind, so doesn’t he...why!
The world treats people unfairly.
Occasionally cursing the thief God and scolding the dog bastard Ning in the southwest is one of the ways to entertain herself, and it can also be regarded as the source of coordinates for her work over the years. Although she is puzzled by the progress of martial arts, she has
You can figure it out in one day:
Dog bastard Ning He has probably been working day and night like himself for so many years, reviewing papers, reading news, going to meetings and games one after another, moving forward cautiously, and thinking about who he is every moment.
I'm lying to myself, maybe there are some clues hidden in some messages that I missed...
There will be no other way.
Compared with the gloomy and breathless situation and pressure of the past few years, the discouraging things and the seemingly endless bad news, now at least many things have gone smoothly for the time being, which is gratifying.
With the development of the book, the information recorded in each booklet flows before my eyes every day like a rushing river. There are still many problems, but the knots one by one are gradually unraveling.
The level of boredom is always less than in previous years.
The time that can be allocated to review these papers is not long every day. In other times, there are still meetings and meetings to be held. For many representatives of powerful families or forces, she needs to meet in person to win over them.
She made a decision on the general direction, but for many specific matters, she had to hold meetings with several ministers of the Shanxi cabinet to discuss progress and arrange the next steps. Sometimes she had to win over or suppress them respectively.
Although the current power basically belongs to her, in fact, her personal friendship with many civil servants in the court is not very deep, and she maintains a distant and business-like attitude with many people. Even for the staff around her, her
Management is still based on political balance rather than personal friendship.
Women in power now have a natural disadvantage in terms of status. If you are too close to others, it is easy for others to deceive and manipulate you. This is a painful lesson accumulated from the Tian Hu era.
For this reason, in addition to having a relatively cordial trust in some figures such as Yu Lin and Shi Jin, Lou Shuwan always showed public concern rather than personal friendship when facing most officials. This ensured that the governance of Jin was stable in some aspects.
Integrity and insight have also made the female prime minister's governing foundation somewhat fragile in other aspects.
According to the biting sarcasm that the dog bastard Ning He said to her in the letter, this can only be regarded as a kind of "feudal incorruptibility". It is like walking a tightrope. Although it can be maintained for a short time, it may not last long.
If she can establish a more usable team of disciples and staff like Southwest, her path should be more stable. But there is no way, she is not very good at educating her disciples, and it is difficult for her to form a Ning Yi-like influence on the people below her.
With her "monarch"-like authority, most of the time, people who understand the situation in Jin will express respect for her "public spirit" and "selflessness", but such respect can easily fall apart in the face of more clear rights.
Knights like Shi Jin, who have their own unwavering "Tao", are too rare, and even if Shi Jin's loyalty deserves her unconditional trust, she rarely allows Shi Jin to serve in other positions besides personal bodyguards.
, such as the collection of intelligence, such as his views on certain things, even if he occasionally asks, the knight's perspective will be biased. Lou Shuwan cherishes it very much and does not want him to get involved in more worldly affairs.
In dramas, it is always thought that the reason why a certain lord is stupid is that he cannot appoint talents to their best interests, but in fact, the most painful thing for people at the core of power is that they do not know what information is true and what information is false. Most of them
The balance of power at that time also hoped that three or more people could express their opinions from several different angles in order to find the truth from the collision of opinions. Once the lower-level people formed an alliance, no matter how wise the monarch was, they could only
It was pitch black.
Correct information is the basis of everything.
It was already noon after reviewing the excerpts, so I invited several cabinet ministers to have lunch and discussed the progress of various affairs with them.
Cooperation negotiations with Zou Xu have been one of the key points in recent times. To the outside world, the news has spread that Jin is going to develop Taiyuan, Bianliang and Zou, and Dai Lili has immediately supported it and is preparing to participate.
Many disturbances have brought about positive interests, but the tug of war continues on the specific direction of negotiations.
"... Zou Xu has proposed several trading options today... As before, most of them are of course what we want to sell, but there are always a few that we can't accept... In the middle, it's about firearms
Yes, Master Yu and I discussed it. There are six to seven items. In the northwest, Xiaocang River is also one of them... And for several items related to firearms, Zou Xu has hinted that if we can
Take it out secretly, and the price they can give you is very high..."
"... Mr. Yu and I have discussed this matter. To be honest, the prices he gave are really tempting. Several plans for this year are bottomless... and Zou Xu said there that they are a grassroots company.
In the beginning, when dealing with all parties, reputation was the most important thing, so the secret transaction would not harm us, but of course, we refused at the time. But I think the Prime Minister should take a look at the prices above..."
The official negotiating with Zou Xu's team now belongs to the Ministry of Household Affairs of Shanxi Province, which is the department directly under the jurisdiction of Lou Shuwan. The other party's words were relatively relaxed. After explaining the process, he handed the notebook to Lou Shuwan. Lou Shuwan waved to the other party.
When I sat down to eat, I glanced at him and almost dropped my chopsticks.
"Oh, there are so many names with the surname Zou..."
"We made a rough estimate and found that Liu Guangshi, Yin Zong, Chen Shiquan and others have the property. It is not surprising that they can come up with these. After all, many of them are for delivery of goods, and we... do lack these."
"Sell me..."
"The Prime Minister is joking."
"I'm not joking. My nephew is really rich, and his price is generous. This means that young people have more money. It depends on their character." She held the chopsticks in one hand and the book in the other, stared at it, smiled, and then closed the book.
He stood up, instantly suppressed his smile and shook his head, "In the afternoon, please Master Cen, please throw these prices in the faces of the people opposite."
"...the matter of firearms and the ownership of Xiaocanghe are the bottom line of the Southwest. There is no need to talk about it, and we can't talk about it. Today's breath of relief in Jindi is because I went to Southwest to beg my grandfather and grandma to kneel back. Now
Our wings are not hard yet, leading us to bully our masters and destroy our ancestors, and slap people in the face. Ask them what Zou Xu wants to do! Does he really not understand this truth? He is still nagging his mother-in-law and mother-in-law all day long.
Follow us in circles."
"Yes." The official surnamed Cen nodded, and then asked, "...Did you really throw it away?"
"……ah?"
Lou Shuwan raised her head and looked at him with some confusion.
The other person also smiled after a moment.
"...I understand, the humble post will take care of it. But according to my opinion and that of Mr. Yu, the firearms and the Xiaocang River are probably Zou Xu's extortionate asking prices. If they really have to pay back the money, the interests of Guanzhong and Tongguan,
It seems that is their main concern..."
"...It is also the rightful meaning." Lou Shuwan said while eating, "The northwest is not only the barrier of Shanxi, but also connects the entire Central Plains. As long as he and Dai Mengwei are not blind, they will regard Guanzhong as their most important enemy. Now Tongguan,
Chang'an is considered to be in our hands. Not long after he and Lao Dai killed Liu Guangshi, they are still clearing old accounts. The foundation is not yet stable, so they can only negotiate with us. He mentioned this matter last time when he came... Actually, I haven't yet
Totally thought about it.”
There was a slight silence for a moment.
"...In any case, according to what Lao Ning said in his letter last month, Zou Xu is very capable of stalemate. When negotiating with him, you must be prepared to go around in circles. The ideas in the direction of Chang'an and Tongguan, stay with them until they
Take the initiative and see how much they think... In addition, if you really feel that something is wrong, throw it directly in their face, whether it is a book or a stool, and say that I am angry, and ask Zou Xu to come and apologize to me in person.
Otherwise, don’t talk anymore, they are not the only ones to win the Jin Dynasty.”
Hearing her talk about "Old Ning" like this, the person below looked slightly solemn and breathed a sigh of relief. Lou Shuwan glanced at it and changed the topic to other places.
The negotiation between Jindi and Zou Xu is now an important matter, but at least the publicity impact on Jindi's development of Taiyuan has begun to be discounted. Nowadays, various gentry and big merchants are gathering cooperation intentions, aiming at a large number of people from Taiyuan and the northwest.
Materials are being mobilized, and cooperation with the rebel divisions is being communicated and coordinated every day. These are all urgent matters, and every day's report will have an overview.
These messages came in turn, and after the conversation was over, almost an hour had passed. Lou Shuwan hurriedly finished eating a few mouthfuls of food that had gone cold, and then talked about two important things in the afternoon.
"...Lu Cheng has made preparations for the negotiation with the Jurchens. He will set off north tomorrow. Regardless of whether it has any effect or not, you will vigorously promote it. In addition, the envoys from the Chinese Army from Liangshan will meet in the afternoon.
When we arrived at Weisheng, there were not many people, but the gongs, drums, and firecrackers were ready at the east gate. The Chinese Army fully supports our reconstruction of Taiyuan. Please let go of this incident when you have time."
Everyone stood up and accepted the promise.
Shortly after the meal, Lu Cheng, the envoy who was going to the Jin Kingdom, led several deputies to see Lou Shuwan. This was a middle-aged official from Jin who had good eloquence and strong adaptability. He was going to be an envoy to the Jin Dynasty.
News about the country has been spreading around Weisheng for several days.
Going north to develop Taiyuan is a very enterprising and risky undertaking. Under normal circumstances, only the most radical speculators will choose to participate. In this context, Zou Xu's proactive overtures gave Jindi some publicity
At the same time, the female prime minister suddenly made the decision to negotiate with the Kingdom of Jin, which gave everyone a more solid reassurance.
This is extremely mature political skill.
In the past, the Kingdom of Jin and the land of Jin had a deep hatred. The female prime minister also showed an extremely radical attitude in the process of resisting the Jin Dynasty. After she did something that burned her power to the ground, she had many ideas of appeasement that most people would not dare to say out loud first.
, but under the current situation, considering the rumors that the new Jurchen monarch came to power, the power struggle, and the Xifu's loss of power that have been circulating in the past month, many people believe that the Jin Dynasty has expressed peace intentions to the new Jurchen monarch Wanyan Dan at this time.
, it is very likely to get a positive result.
Even if a war is inevitable in a few years, at least the buffer period for the development of Taiyuan can be extended as long as possible.
Especially after the female prime minister showed such a broad mind and such natural strategizing skills, many people in Jin area even raised their awareness of her to a higher level. Within a few days after the news was released, several people in Washeng City
Representatives of the gentry and wealthy families who were still hesitating successively expressed their preliminary intention to cooperate with the development of Taiyuan to Lou Shuwan.
"...When you go to the Kingdom of Jin, your attitude is neither humble nor arrogant. Our Jin Kingdom today has shown its strength in the past wars, and is not the Wu Dynasty where they get what they want, so there is no need to grovel and lower your attitude. Wanyan Dan, the new king
Soon after taking power, if you want to touch powerful officials like Zong Han, as long as they are not pigs, they will be willing to raise their hands to Jin..."
"...but there are also many barbarians in the Kingdom of Jin. When a beast sees a person, they will show their teeth and claws. As long as you take a step back, he will see your guilty conscience. At that time, you will only be manipulated by them to take whatever you want. So Mr. Lu,
As for the result of the negotiation, try to be successful and good, but the most important thing is that barefoot people are not afraid of those who wear shoes. You have to try your best to show that we in Jindi are barefoot and they wear shoes. The next tone of Jindi can
How long will it take to breathe? Thanks to you for going north this time, on behalf of the people of Jin, I would like to ask Mr. Lu and all of you."
She solemnly explained to Lu Cheng and others, who also stood up and solemnly handed over their hands.
"When we go to the Northland, we will try our best to visit all the Jin Kingdom officials to facilitate this matter. Even if it fails, I also discussed with Brother Feng and Brother Su yesterday. We can die there, but we will never
We won’t let them think that the Jin people are the least bit timid.”
"Don't die there."
Lou Shuwan shook her head.
The meeting with Lu Cheng and others lasted for a while, followed by the arrival of several well-known gentry and merchants in Jin. Lou Shuwan took turns talking to them one by one for a while, and then led everyone to Wei Sheng.
The east gate welcomes the Chinese military envoys from Liangshan.
In addition to Zou Xu's statement and Lu Cheng's mission, Yu Weisheng's east gate welcomed the Chinese military envoy with great fanfare, which also confirmed the Chinese military's support for Jin's plan to develop Taiyuan.
The only fly in the ointment was that when the envoy arrived, Lou Shuwan discovered that the envoy from Liangshan named Fang Chengye had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and looked like a gangster. The only good thing about him was that his eyes were relatively calm.
According to the information previously reported, Fang Chengye is also a disciple of Ning Yi. His hometown is in Zezhou. He went to Xiaocanghe to learn something from Ning Yi for some reason, and later returned to Zezhou and had an encounter with Zhan Wu.
He had been a partner for a while, and he was involved in Tian Hu's incident. But for some reason, after Tian Hu died, he left Jindi and handed over all the work to Zhan Wu. Because of this, Lou Shuwan and him were still friends.
First meeting.
Lou Shuwan has always been curious about Ning Yi's disciples. Now this person is a different type of person from Zou Xu. Although his appearance looks worse, he doesn't know if it is due to Liangshan's consistent lack of supplies.
, but at least his eyes are stable and deep, seeming to have a hint of bitterness.
——Most people who have seen troubled times have this look, but capable people like Zou Xu can mostly use the world as a chess piece to scold Fang Qiu. His depression is more like the trauma of being powerless in the world. On the contrary,
It is somewhat similar to Zhan Wu, and indeed we have worked together.
The entrance on the first day was just a propaganda. On the surface, the Huaxia Army first supported the construction of Taiyuan by Jin, but in fact, Lou Shuwan proposed to the Huaxia Army that it send troops to attack the northwest. The mission sent by the other side was no more than
Dozens of people expressed that they would take on some lobbying tasks, which made Lou Shuwan quite unhappy. In other words, even though she had expected from the beginning that the Chinese army would not really send troops to conquer such a useless place like the northwest, her apparent dissatisfaction was also
necessary.
After the lively greeting, everyone returned to the Qing Palace. Lou Shuwan waved back and scolded Fang Chengye and Zhan Wu who were both participating in the show. Unlike Xue Guangcheng's hard top in the past, Zhan Wu's was hidden in the cotton, while Fang Chengye was.
He apologized repeatedly and showed great humility about everything, but then he also rationally stated various considerations why the Chinese Army could not come over, saying that with the strength of the Chinese Army in Liangshan, it might be able to respond to Taiyuan in the future, but naturally it would not be able to control it.
Northwest, if you want that place, you can just play with it.
This man had no energy, and the confrontation was meaningless. Lou Shuwan scolded Ning Yi a few times, then waved the two of them away.
After that, there was still some time to correct the excerpts; I stayed in the Qing Palace in the evening and still had interviews with some officials and gentry.
On an ordinary day, she tried to keep her thoughts as clear as possible until the interview came to an end. She lay on her desk and rested for a while. When she woke up, the starry night outside was vast and the Langyuan was peaceful. Yuan Xiaoqiu put a blanket on her shoulders.
A cloak, no one knows what time of night it is.
It was a late night that often happened. She stretched herself in the cold breath to wake herself up and returned to the desk in the study.
There are also some discounts. After approval, you can go home and rest.
An ordinary, relatively relaxing day...
Soon, Shi Jin came in and told her some interesting news.
…
The night vision passed through the courtyard and palace walls of the Qing Palace, and after a relatively dark road, it became bright again.
Beside a teahouse in the bustling night market, Zou Xu and Fang Chengye met on the road. This time, there was no stalemate like the assassination of Xue Guangcheng. The senior brothers who had known each other for a long time seemed to have said hello calmly, and then went up.
In the tea house, I sat down in front of the window seat and brewed a pot of new tea.
Many eyes were watching this scene secretly, trying to discern some of the exchanged messages. However, due to the noise of the night market and the occupation of the surrounding area by the entourage of both parties, no third person could hear the conversation.
…
"...it's you who didn't think about it."
"...In these troubled times, we often see each other less often. How is senior brother doing lately?"
"...You know everything you did, including killing Liu Guangshi and teaming up with Dai Mengwei..."
"...It's not easy, senior brother...I'm asking about my mental journey."
"...I am happy here and don't miss Shu."
"...Zibi Adou will not end well."
"...I just think it's appropriate to put it here...please give me tea."
"……please."
…
"...In the end, we have to help the female prime minister seize the northwest."
"...Senior brother, why did you come here?"
"...I want to chat with my female counterpart about Guanzhong, and see if I can buy some guns."
"...The guns and cannons at Liu Guangshi's place are enough for you. If there is anything worth buying, why would you lie to me?"
"...the first and second generations are useless."
"...I can't possibly sell it to you later. It's not like I don't understand."
"...I also know how craftsmanship develops. I just don't have time. Monkey, please help me."
"...Is Fang Chengye such a person?"
"……what kind of person?"
"...people who betray their comrades."
"...So that's what you think."
"...otherwise, I will investigate what you did."
"...Then you should know my difficulties. They acted first."
"...Can't you explain it? Or you don't want to explain it."
"...The world is vast, monkey, why can't you and I be the protagonists...and didn't I tell you, it was you who came last time, so I let you live."
"...It doesn't matter if you kill me. I'm not the only one in the Huaxia Army. If you make the same mistake again and again, the teacher will clear you up in advance."
"... Who is coming? Who... Forget it, if you don't say this, it will hurt your feelings, so be it, Monkey, just say this, if one day something goes wrong in Southwest, what do you want, remember to have me, okay
no?"
"...Senior brother...let me give you some advice."
"...You speak, I listen."
"...There is an obvious thing. Senior brother, you may not have thought much about it...Back then, I went to investigate and persuaded you to go back, but you were unwilling. What you were afraid of was that you would be punished if you went back and would not end well. But things are different now.
, you may see the side of yourself that is at the height of the sun but still walking on thin ice, but in my opinion... If you want to go back, to avoid the teacher coming out later and rockets falling on your head, today is also your best chance..."
"..."
"...Look, you captured Bianliang, killed Liu Guangshi, and tricked Dai Mengwei into joining the gang. Your men controlled half of the Central Plains, and also controlled the so-called saint of today. You killed him, or captured him.
Him, expose him, return to the Huaxia Army... The teacher will not punish you. Even if it is just based on your merits and abilities today, everything you have now, including your several women, can be preserved. No one can punish you.
No matter how strict the discipline is, it will still be lenient to you..."
"..."
"...Senior brother, you've had enough fun, come back..."
On February 16th, it was still a cold spring night. The moonlight was like water in the night sky of Shanxi, and there were only a few stars. While Lou Shuwan was still writing at his desk in the palace, in the noisy night market street, a pair of junior brothers briefly exchanged words with each other.
Fighting, and these words are like a storm, almost bringing turmoil to the entire world.
It's like hearing the devil's whisper, or seeing the strategist's wanton moves...
Zou Xulu stood there stunned.
And Fang Chengye looked at him.
"...This is the best way..."
The plot of these two chapters is very crucial. I hesitated for a long time and overturned several versions of the manuscript. It was painful...