prosperous age

Of course Wei Guangde didn't know what was going on in the capital.

The people he stayed in the capital were able to find out about some of the big-ticket goods and then write them back in letters.

For example, funds for the construction of the enemy tower in Ji Town were blocked. Not many people in the court paid attention to it, so naturally they would not discuss it.

Maybe someone would say a few words in private occasionally, but in the end not many people were interested.

As for those who knew the inside story, such as Tan Lun, Zhu Heng and others who were closely related to Wei Guangde, they would not give him any information because the matter was not in Wei Guangde's interests.

Well, Wei Guangde, who has no official position, cannot influence the court even if he has any ideas, so why bother telling him.

But that night, Tan Lun went to Zhu Heng's house and learned about the current situation in the court, especially Gao Gong's approach.

"If you didn't tell me, I would have thought that Shandai and Gao Suqing came from Prince Yu's Mansion together, so their relationship should be very close."

Tan Lun breathed out the smell of alcohol and spoke to Zhu Heng.

By this time, the banquet had been removed, and the two of them were sitting in a flower hall drinking tea and chatting.

"During the two years you were in the capital, he happened to be impeached and returned to his hometown, so naturally no one told you about those things."

Zhu Heng just smiled and looked at Tan Lun and said casually, "But you still have to be more careful when serving as Governor of Ji Liao. It is best not to make any mistakes in your work, so as not to be caught."

It seemed unintentional, but Tan Lun listened anyway, frowned slightly, and then asked in a low voice: "Brother Shi Nan, what's the news?"

Officials of high rank are actually very sensitive, and Tan Lun is naturally the same.

Zhu Heng asked him to be careful, which in his opinion was definitely not unreasonable.

"I heard some news that someone in the cabinet proposed to transfer you back to the capital to be the Minister of War."

Seeing that Tan Lun was already keenly aware of it, Zhu Heng said directly without making any excuses.

Maybe other people would be very happy to hear that they could be transferred back to the capital, but Tan Lun was not.

He transferred Qi Jiguang to his staff because he wanted to transform Jiliao Town into an iron barrel formation.

Now that the first step of his plan to defend the enemy tower has gone wrong, he is naturally unwilling to return to the capital. He also wants to use the money left over from Ji Town in the past two years to independently build a defense group.

In addition, he plans to visit Liaodong before the end of the year. During his two years as governor of Jiliao, in addition to strengthening the defense of Jizhen, he also strengthened the three major cities of Shanhaiguan City, Ningyuan, and Jinzhou, and reorganized armaments at both ends and the middle of the Liaoxi Corridor. .

The Western Liaoning Corridor is too important, and the geography is really special. If anything goes wrong, Liaodong will be left alone and unable to receive overseas rescue.

Yes, this is the Guanningjin defense line that the Ming army relied on to support the battle at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The original designer of the defense line was Tan Lun.

This is not because he is far-sighted and far-sighted, but because of his character, he is very cautious, especially when it comes to defense.

He was able to stand out in the Jiangnan Anti-Japanese War because he could not only train troops but also deploy defenses.

Wherever he goes, an airtight defense system will inevitably be established, so that even if the Japanese pirates land, they will gain nothing.

Shanhaiguan and Jinzhou already had cities, especially Shanhaiguan, which was a lock guarding the corridor. The Ming Dynasty paid great attention to it from beginning to end.

Tan Lun's arrival not only upgraded the Shanhaiguan garrison level, but also placed all surrounding castles under Shanhaiguan control, strengthening the military strength here.

Jinzhou, on the other hand, renovated the city's defenses. These seemingly wasteful measures did play a very important role in ensuring that Jinzhou City could persist to the end during the post-Jin War.

The situation of Ningyuan is similar to that of Jinzhou. It was originally an acropolis, but he also built fortifications according to the big city, built tall walls, and strengthened the garrison, so that he could clear the corridors on both sides of enemy attacks at any time.

The focus of the entire Guanningjin defense line is of course Jinzhou.

The Liaoxi Corridor is more than 400 miles long, with the widest point being only 20 miles and the narrowest point only a few miles. It is still easy for small groups of enemies to cross mountains and ridges to destroy it and block traffic.

Originally, the Ming army did not pay much attention to this place, because before, the Ming army still had the advantage of crushing the surrounding forces. Who dared to run here and act wildly.

But after Tan Lun analyzed the situation in the north, he was worried that when the Ming army encountered an unfavorable situation in the north, it could easily become a weak point.

At the very least, when a powerful force appears in the north that can confront the Ming army, as long as a surprise force is sent out to cut off the Western Liaoning Corridor, the connection between Liaodong and the imperial court can be cut off and forced to switch to the sea route.

By then, there will inevitably be major riots in Liaodong, and the consequences are truly unpredictable. Therefore, ensuring the safety of the Liaoxi Corridor is actually ensuring the safety of Liaodong.

He had not completed the things he had done as governor of Jiliao, and he couldn't help but get anxious when he heard that someone was going to transfer him.

"Who?"

"Uncle Zhang."

"How could it be him?"

Tan Lun was shocked when he heard Zhu Heng name the proposer.

He could understand Gao Gong's desire to replace Ji Liao with one of his own, but it would be difficult for him to understand if it were Zhang Juzheng.

"I heard from Yin Zhengfu that according to Zhang Shuda's opinion, Liu Yingjie will replace you as governor of Jiliao, and you will return to the Ministry of War to assist Yang Bo.

By the way, you may not know that it was Zhang Juzheng's intention to appoint Yang Bo as Minister of War. Zhang Siwei, the Minister of Civil Affairs, also said a lot of good things to Gao Gong. "

Zhu Heng looked at Tan Lun and whispered, "Shandai left Beijing, many things have changed, that's why I said we should be cautious in doing things, and we must not make any mistakes."

Yes, Zhu Heng needed to worry about these things in the past.

With Wei Guangde in the cabinet, he would naturally nip the problem in the bud as soon as possible.

But now that Wei Guangde has returned to his hometown and Ding You, Yin Shizhen is in a difficult situation in the cabinet, unable to compete with Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.

Moreover, Zhu Heng also keenly noticed one thing, that is, Zhang Juzheng may have limited influence on Gao Gong, but don't forget that there is another person beside Gao Gong that he is more optimistic about, Zhang Siwei.

Many people may have noticed the existence of this person only after Zhang Juzheng's death, because Zhang Juzheng's light was so bright that other officials were obscured by his light.

But in fact, in the last years of Longqing, Zhang Siwei participated in many arrangements for Gao Gong's downfall.

Some people in later generations thought that Zhang Siwei was a high-minded person, so after Zhang Juzheng's death, when everyone pushed back the wall, Zhang Siwei adopted a laissez-faire attitude and did not even remind him in front of the emperor.

But in fact, Zhang Siwei was a member of the Shanxi Gang from beginning to end. He relied on Yang Bo, the leader of the Shanxi Gang, and then only relied on the power of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng to strengthen the strength of Shanxi officials, and also indirectly helped Shanxi merchants. The rise of.

After learning about this, Tan Lun's original idea of ​​asking Zhang Juzheng to help him speak in front of Gao Gong and win money from the court was shattered in Tan Lun's mind.

"Then Gao Suqing didn't deliberately target you, right?"

Thinking of Zhu Heng who was still among the Nine Qings, Tan Lun asked.

"Now the water transportation is a mess like the Ministry of Revenue. If he is really interested, I will give up my position to him." Zhu Heng sighed.

"But if you become an official."

Tan Lun hesitated and said that he had realized a very serious problem, that is, there seemed to be no Jiangxi officials in high positions in the court, leaving only Zhu Heng.

As for Wei Guangde, well, he will not be able to return to the DPRK for more than a year or two.

And given the current situation, what can we do even if he comes back?

Being isolated and helpless in the court, he had to gather his strength again.

Official position is like a carrot and a pit. It is easy to put it down, but it is extremely difficult to get it back.

"At least for now, I really don't know who is interested in this position, unless he really has the ability to control water."

Zhu Heng smiled bitterly.

"Then what was said in the cabinet today?"

Tan Lun thought of the news he received today that water transportation was cut off again. This was a big deal.

"What else can we do? Let's continue sending people to control the water."

Zhu Heng sighed, "Pan Ziliang was implicated. This incident was not a small one. More than 20 canal boats were destroyed, and officers and soldiers suffered heavy casualties. The cabinet believes that the responsibility lies with him and has already planned to dismiss him."

Zhu Heng looked at Tan Lun and said: "When I hired Pan Ziliang, it was because he wanted to lend money. My method failed to cure the water, so I wanted to try his idea. Who knew that he would be dismissed from his post because of this?"

The Pan Ziliang he spoke of was naturally Pan Jixun. Although later generations called him a famous water control official in the Ming Dynasty, especially his use of "confining water to attack sand" to control the Yellow River, this method was also used in later generations.

Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, this method was still considered the best method to control floods in the Yellow River.

But in fact, Pan Jixun only came up with this method after several failed attempts. After many attempts were effective, he finally adopted this method to control the Yellow River after his comeback in the sixth year of Wanli.

Although "confining water to attack sand" could not cure the Yellow River floods, it did alleviate the frequency of flood outbreaks to a great extent. He also went down in history for pioneering this method.

Yes, although he is famous for his ability in controlling floods, although the method of concentrating water and attacking sand is clever, in the era of great development of science and technology in later generations, it is still considered to be the optimal method to solve the water conditions of the Yellow River at that time. There is no better method, but The flood problem of the Yellow River has still not been solved.

Is it useful to "conquer water and attack sand"?

If the water flow could really take away all the sediment in the Yellow River, there would undoubtedly be much less river trouble. However, sand is heavier than water and water is lighter. In reality, no matter how fast the water flow is, some sediment will always settle.

Even if the neutral force of the clear water is extremely strong, the Yellow River is still constantly in the silt pad, causing the bottom to continue to rise. What is more complicated is that the water potential is unpredictable, and the strength is beyond human control. The yellowing and clearing are often inseparable. Follow.

Even so, the "Water Confinement and Sand Attacking Method" created by Pan Jixun did allow the Yellow River to remain stable for several years without causing floods every now and then.

Perhaps it was precisely because of being impeached and removed that Pan Jixun came up with this method at home to solve the problem of river sand accumulation to the greatest extent possible.

At this time, Tan Lun just nodded in agreement. He understood that Pan Jixun's career was over, unless there was someone in the cabinet to support him.

Believe it or not, there are countless officials from the Department of Science and Technology who are writing furiously in front of their home desks at this moment, criticizing Pan Jixun, the river governor, and frantically impeaching him for his incompetence.

It was a waste of time and money, but it was of no use. After only one year of water control, floods caused another flood and blocked water transportation.

After coming out of Zhu Heng's mansion, Tan Lun sat in the sedan chair and meditated.

He could also tell from Zhu Heng's words that there was a fierce struggle for power in the cabinet.

Wei Guangde seemed to have unlimited fame at the beginning, but it was obviously because he was in a group with Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen at that time.

Now that Chen Yiqin has become an official, and because he has returned to his hometown, Ding You, this small group has collapsed.

Their opponents, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, seemed to be taking advantage of this golden opportunity to uproot Wei Guangde's power in the court.

By then, even if Wei Guangde comes back, he will still be far from the original momentum, and naturally he can only squat down.

Yin Shizhen, and him, seemed to be their targets.

Tan Lun could understand why they were not targeting Zhu Heng, but targeting him. It was because the Ministry of Industry had too many troubles. Although there was plenty of money to control the water, the risks were also high.

I didn't see Pan Jixun, so I believe that if he were just dismissed from office, it would be a good outcome. However, those who are responsible for specific work below, if they have no support, will be imprisoned and become criminals.

Targeting him, Tan Lun, I believe was to prevent him from joining the Ministry of War.

At first, Wei Guangde had thought about transferring him, the governor of Jiliao, to the Ministry of War as minister, but in the end he failed. The emperor skipped consulting the cabinet and appointed Guo Qian, who was in Nanjing, to return to the capital to take charge of the Ministry of War.

Now, the emperor learned the lesson from the last time and asked the cabinet for their opinions. In the end, Gao Gong was obviously persuaded by Zhang Juzheng and chose to let Yang Bo come back.

Zhang Juzheng wanted him to return to the capital and serve in the Ministry of War, but he had no good intentions.

Tan Lun didn't think he could stop the imperial court's transfer order. Maybe if Wei Guangde was in the cabinet, the situation would be better, but it's a pity that he is not here.

No one in the cabinet would support him as the governor of Ji Liao, and Yin Shizhen would only give symbolic opposition.

After all, the relationship between Tan Lun and Yin Shizhen is not close, and the two parties do not have much entangled interests.

Thinking of this, Tan Lun knew what he should do.

That is to empty out the Jizhen warehouse and complete the entire defense project before the imperial court orders it.

Let's go to the Liaoxi Corridor to see the progress of the construction of the Guanning Jin City Wall, and try to complete it before he leaves.

As for what he should do in the future?

Thinking back to the time when Yang Bo resigned and returned to his hometown in the name of recuperating, it seemed that he could do the same.

We will wait until Wei Guangde returns to the court. He will need manpower at that time.

My level and qualifications are sufficient in all aspects. As long as there is a vacancy, I can directly fly in.

Otherwise, when you come to the capital, under the noses of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, you will be harmed if you don't get it right.

At this moment, Tan Lun had already made up his mind. Once there was an order from the imperial court and he could protect himself, he would simply claim that he was sick from overwork as an official in the frontier and requested to return to his hometown to recuperate.

I think back then, Chief Assistant Yan Song also returned to his hometown to recuperate from illness.

Wei Guangde may not know about the changes in the capital's officialdom, or he may be powerless if he does.

As an official with Ding You at home, he can only stay in Bengshan Fort now, and cannot even visit relatives and friends.

In the first few months, some classmates came to see him, but he could only prepare light tea and light meals to entertain them.

By now, he was completely at peace in Bengshan Castle, repeating yesterday, day after day. (End of chapter)