"What?!" Zhang Fu looked at Wang Xian in surprise, but this surprise had completely opposite meanings to the previous two.
"Why, do you feel embarrassed, sir?" Wang Xian asked with a smile.
"No, it's not." Zhang Fu shook his head quickly and said with a bitter smile: "I just didn't expect that the father-in-law would give such a simple job after two extremely harsh conditions."
"Is it easy?" Wang Xian said sternly: "In my heart, this third condition is no easier than the first two." After a pause, he added in a deep voice: "The current situation of the imperial court is also known to me.
, it is impossible to send a large army to go south with the prince. I am ashamed to say that all I can give to the prince is a few thousand troops and some officers. Everything must be done by the prince's ability to put down the rebellion in Jiaozhi."
"Haha, sir, don't worry. Mr. Zhang has been in Jiaozhi for more than ten years. He knows the Annan people well. To pacify them, the key is to use the right method. What's more, Annan is a place with high mountains and forests. If there are more troops, it will be better to send them.
It’s useless.” When talking about Jiaozhi, Zhang Fu finally regained his former glory. He was the best military strategist in the Ming Dynasty! The army and the battlefield were the stage for him to gallop!
From the day he was recalled by Emperor Yongle, Zhang Fu could not help but fall into the terrible political whirlpool. Facts have proved that he is not an excellent politician, let alone a competent conspirator. In this battlefield he is not good at
In the war, the British Duke suffered a huge defeat, lost his reputation, and even almost lost his life and property. This made him more and more tired of everything at the moment, and he was eager to return to the battlefield and regain his former confidence and glory.
"I'm telling the truth. In my opinion, the Jiaozhi matter is more important than the first two things." Wang Xian stood up, walked to Zhang Fu, looked into his eyes, and said in a deep voice: "One inch
No territory can be lost, is this possible?"
"Yes! I lost an inch, and I am willing to die to apologize!" Zhang Fu also looked into Wang Xian's eyes and issued a military order without hesitation...
Although Wang Xian and Zhang Fu cut through the mess quickly and reached an agreement in a short period of time, a lot of hard work is still needed to truly transition the situation to an ideal state.
The imperial army rebelled and attacked the imperial city. This was a great rebellion that shocked the whole world. If the emperor, the court, and the world were not given a justifiable explanation, even Wang Xian would not be able to turn the page. Besides, anyone who is not a fool would not believe this.
There was no noble instigation or planning behind the rebellion. How easy is it to pluck out the nobles without getting yourself covered in shit?
Fortunately, Jin Yiwei is an expert in fabricating evidence and confusing right and wrong. Under Wu Wei's careful planning, Beizhen Fusi was getting closer to Wang Xian's goal step by step. First, they sealed off the whole city and hunted down the rebels without stopping.
Shaoxungui was also arrested, and even the British Duke, Cheng Guogong and others were ordered to suspend their duties behind closed doors, pending interrogation.
The purpose of making such a big noise was to let the government and the public see that Jin Yiwei was doing its best to solve the case in line with the traditional virtue of preferring to be in vain rather than indulge in it, which put everyone in danger. No one dared to say that Jin Yiwei was not doing its best to handle the case.
This whole process lasted for a month or two, which made everyone scared and tired. The Jinyiwei stopped at the right time and began to interrogate secretly. After another month or two of this, it has entered the hot summer, and people are questioning each other.
The attention paid to the case gradually dwindled as time went by, and all attention was attracted by the reform to abolish the banknote law!
Wang Xian could afford it, but Emperor Hongxi could not. Finally, without the restraints of the distinguished nobles, Zhu Gaochi naturally wanted to go out and do something big. After some intensive preparations, he issued an edict to announce that the imperial court would forever
No new treasure banknotes will be issued! The original treasure banknotes will be used at one-tenth of their face value based on their condition. After three years, the treasure banknotes will be completely withdrawn from circulation!
Compared with the rebellion case that is discussed after dinner, this is a major matter related to everyone's vital interests. People's attention suddenly shifted to how to spend all the family's treasure money in three years; whether to hoard more
Copper coins and silver coins are waiting for appreciation!
Even the energy of the civil servants was all focused on arguing about whether the banknote law should be abolished in such a hurry, so how could they care about the rebellion?
Wang Xian was waiting for this opportunity. He quietly closed the case and reported the investigation results to the emperor, saying that Duke Dingguo was the mastermind of the rebellion. Xu Jingchang was dissatisfied with the emperor's reforms after he ascended the throne. During the Changling Incident, Xu Jingchang saw the coffin of the late emperor.
Unexpectedly, he thought that the late emperor had appeared and wanted to replace the emperor. So he teamed up with a small group of nobles to forge a posthumous edict, deceive the trust of some of the Forbidden Army generals, and launch this coup.
Xuchang, several nobles and officers of the Forbidden Army made thousands of confessions and confessed to this. As for other nobles, they did not know about it and did not participate, but they still deeply realized that their previous actions in Changling were deceiving the emperor.
, the crimes were so serious that they all wrote confessions and expressed their willingness to accept all punishments. The British Duke and Cheng Guogong were no exception.
The matter has been handled to this point, and the emperor has been able to live with it, and Yang Shiqi and others dare not say anything more. If we really want to compare it to Zhen'er, it was the emperor who protected the grandson in the first place, and Wang Xian was just following the example. What's more, here
Which of the upper-level figures doesn’t know exactly what it means? To be fair, it’s very difficult for Wang Xian to be so comprehensive and give an explanation to all aspects...
A few days later, the emperor issued an edict that Xu Jingchang had evil intentions and intended to rebel, so he should be executed according to the law. However, because his father had sacrificed his life for the country and had made great contributions, he was instead exiled to Jiaozhi and served in the army to atone for his sin. Since the first offender was granted leniency,
, those accomplices are not easy to kill, they are all assigned to Jiaozhi and are never allowed to leave.
As for the other nobles, it would be great if they could take the initiative to admit their mistakes. The emperor just reprimanded them and ordered them not to do it again in the future, otherwise they would be punished for several crimes and severely punished!
The nobles were naturally grateful for the emperor's magnanimity, and they all expressed their gratitude to the emperor for repenting of his past mistakes and would never do it again. The British Duke even said that although the emperor was magnanimous and did not care about past grievances, he, as the Duke of the country, not only failed to set an example.
Instead, he contradicted the emperor in public and could never forgive himself. He begged the emperor for permission to cut off his title and send himself to Jiaozhi to serve in the army.
In order to dispel Zhang Fu's concerns, the emperor specially hosted a banquet for the British prince, of course accompanied by Wang Xian. During the dinner, Zhang Fu knelt in front of the emperor and cried bitterly, regretting his past, which made Zhu Gaochi feel a lot more angry. He had always been a magnanimous person.
Emperor, now that the situation is under control, there is no need to settle petty accounts with Zhang Fu anymore.
Speaking of which, Zhu Zhanji caused far more harm to Zhu Gaochi than Zhang Fu. The emperor could forgive even his rebellious son, so what else could he not forgive?
So, Zhu Gaochi helped Zhang Fu and said kindly: "Don't mention the past things anymore. I can't say whether I'm right or wrong." When the British prince sat down in fear, the emperor continued: "I'll tell you the past.
It's over now, don't be burdened, continue to be your Duke, I still have a lot to rely on you for."
"Your Majesty..." Zhang Fu said with shame and shame: "I am willing to be a bull and a horse, and my heart will be ruined for the rest of my life."
"For the matter of Jiaozhi, the Duke of Zhenguo recommended you to me, saying that it is enough to send the British Duke back without having to send thousands of troops." Zhu Gaochi said with a kind expression: "I want to hear what you think."
"I am willing to go to Jiaozhi! I will fight to the death to put down the rebellion and not lose an inch of territory in order to repay the trust of the emperor and the Duke of Zhenguo!" Zhang Fu immediately expressed his stance.
"Haha, good!" Zhu Gaochi looked delighted, picked up the wine glass and said, "Then this glass of wine will be regarded as the wine I gave you to support your journey! If you drink this glass to the full, I and Duke Zhen are waiting for you to sing a triumphant song!"
"Jingguo Gongye." Wang Xian had been listening quietly, then he picked up his wine glass and toasted to Zhang Fu with the emperor.
After Zhang Fu drank Zhuangxing wine, he wisely resigned first. He would not naively think that by shedding a few tears, drinking a few glasses of wine, and saying a few words, the grudges could be wiped out. Everything was just acting, everything was
He can't go back to the past, there is no place for him in the capital, and the emperor feels the same way...
After Zhang Fu left, the atmosphere at the banquet became much more relaxed.
Zhu Gaochi smiled at Wang Xian and said: "I can't tell, you are so good at handling these nobles." He took the cup himself and poured a glass of wine for Wang Xian, and then poured it for himself. Wang Xian
Smiling, he stood up and went to get the glass of wine in front of the emperor: "Your Majesty, please give this glass to me."
"Hey, no, no, no." Zhu Gaochi stretched out his hand to protect his wine and said with a smile: "I'm happy today. I'll make an exception and have a few more drinks. Don't worry about me."
"The Empress is going to scold me." Wang Xian took back his hand with a grimace and said, "Can we have the last drink?" The emperor was in poor health, so Empress Zhang gave Wang Xian a task, asking him to supervise the emperor and not drink more than 100 grams at a time.
Three cups. I had already finished today’s ration with my British husband.
"The last three cups!" Zhu Gaochi laughed loudly: "I know my health is much better this time than at the beginning of the year."
"Okay, then I'll let the empress scold me and pretend to be confused." Wang Xian no longer insisted.
"That's right!" Zhu Gaochi smiled happily. He exchanged cups with Wang Xian, his face turned red, and he said with a smile: "Today, I have become an emperor."
"Only today have I dared to ask for leave from the emperor." Wang Xian also said with a smile.
"What?! Are you leaving again?" Zhu Gaochi lost all sense of drink and stared at Wang Xiandao: "Can't you just stay in Beijing?"
"Your Majesty, I really can't..." Wang Xian said with a bitter smile: "We must go to Wudang Mountain, otherwise Master Sun may come to kill me one day and kill me with a sword."
"So it's because of this..." Zhu Gaochi said with a relieved smile: "It's really time to go there. The whole world knows that you are going to Wudang Mountain to propose marriage, but you still haven't shown up yet. It really shouldn't be."
"Oh, I can't get away!" Wang Xian took a sip of wine and kept delaying until now. He didn't know what kind of "reception" he would receive when he went to Wudang Mountain.
"Leave granted, go and come back quickly!" His Majesty the Emperor granted permission...
Not to mention what happened to Wang Xian when he went to Wudang Mountain. In the following days, Ming Dynasty entered a comprehensive reform stage. Every evil law of the old government was abolished, policies that benefited the country and the people were implemented one by one, and the interests of the powerful were suppressed.
, exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes were reduced, and the evil banknote law became a historical memory. The fleeing people gradually returned to their hometowns, and crops were planted in the abandoned fields. The dying Ming Dynasty finally looked forward to a beautiful day of recuperation.
The reform of the army is even more drastic. The five military governor's offices have been abolished and replaced by the only grand governor's office. The most immediate effect is that the size of the organization has been reduced to one-third of the original. This alone can be reduced in one year.
Spend millions of taels of silver.
More importantly, after unified leadership, a recruitment system was adopted. The mountainous terrain in the army was leveled. Origin and connections were no longer the only conditions for promotion and appointment. The stereotypes and bad habits that had been established for decades were eliminated.
The army has a new look!
Naturally, this process will not be smooth sailing, but with Wang Xian in charge, how can the nobles dare to make mistakes? Not only do they not dare to make mistakes, but in order to occupy a favorable position in the new pattern, the nobles have to work hard and act as pawns for Wang Xian.
, to subdue those dissatisfied officers. Therefore, despite constant turmoil, Wang Xian's military reforms were implemented step by step.
As for Jiaozhi, Zhang Fu led Xue Huan and others, after more than a year of hard fighting, they finally regained the prefectures and counties occupied by Li Li and drove the rebels into the mountains and forests. However, the British army was limited in strength and money and food were tight.
Unable to organize a large army to attack, we can only maintain the status quo temporarily and wait for a turn.