Brother Zhu Youxiao

"Your Highness, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has rejected your memorial to the feudal clan..."

On August 22, the day after Zhu Youjian announced that he would become a feudal clan on the winter solstice of the 23rd year of the Apocalypse, the Metropolitan Procuratorate took the lead in counterattacking.

As soon as Wang Chengen's words came out, Cao Huachun and Lu Wenzhao in the Hall of Chengyun stopped what they were doing, and looked up at Zhu Youjian, as if they wanted to see what their highness would do.

"Is there any more..."

Zhu Youjian closed his eyes and rested his mind, and asked Wang Chengen without raising his eyelids. Wang Chengen shook his head: "At present, only the Metropolitan Procuratorate responds."

"Your Highness..." Cao Huachun opened his mouth and bowed:

"I'm afraid the memorials from various places and the memorials from the yamen in the capital are already on the way."

Obviously, Cao Huachun didn't believe that the Yanshan faction could only leverage one Metropolitan Procuratorate.

With their strength, if there is a real attack, half of the officials in the world will probably go to the siege.

"It's just a simple visit, it doesn't matter how many people there are, just check what else they have done."

Zhu Youjian responded, and this task naturally had to be handed over to Lu Wenzhao, the commander of Jinyiwei.

"Resign from the humble position." Hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Lu Wenzhao stood up, and then withdrew from the Chengyun Hall, as if he was going to investigate the case.

After he withdrew, Zhu Youjian also said to Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen:
"Issuing an order to transfer Sun Shoufa, Cao Meng, and their four cavalry guards to change the defense of the capital, and send Daxing Camp and Wanping Camp to Fengyang."

"In addition, Shangzhi and the Northern Army, Western Army, Eastern Army, and Southern Army were disrupted respectively, and the generals above the defense of the five armies were rotated to other capitals."

"The soldiers and horse envoys, generals, garrison, and general banner officers of the military and horse divisions of each province changed their defenses one after another."

"In addition, Wu Aheng, Yan Yinshao, Jin Xuan, Yang Wenyue, Shen Tingyang, Lu Xiangsheng, Qi Yuanbi, and Qi Yuanfu will be sent back to Beijing."

"Yan Yingyuan, the prefect of Nankunlun, was promoted to the supervisor of South Kunlun, and Wen'an, the prefect of Ceylon, was promoted to the supervisor of Xiaoxiyang, and Yang Weizhi, the prefect of Hexi, was promoted to the old port to serve as the chief envoy of the old port."

"Zuo Maodi, the magistrate of Shuntian, sent him to be the governor of Yingzhou, Huang Zongxi, the Minister of Rites, was transferred to the governor of Nanzhou, and Xia Yunyi was promoted to the chief historian of Qi."

Zhu Youjian recalled eight officials who in his opinion could stabilize the interior of the Ming Dynasty in one breath, and then replaced the chief envoys of the five provinces, the chief historian of Qi.

It can be seen that he was worried that the transfer of these eight people would cause overseas unrest, so he arranged for officials he trusted to maintain stability early on.

After hearing the words, Cao Huachun wrote down everyone's names and events, and then left the Chengyun Hall with the handwritten notes in his hand.

After they left, only Zhu Youjian and Wang Chengen were left in the huge carrier hall.

"I'm a little tired, let's take a nap first."

Zhu Youjian stretched his waist, and then walked to the side hall of Chengyun Hall.

After Wang Chengen waited for him to fall asleep, he turned his head and glanced at the pile of memorials on the table next to him. He didn't know what he thought of, and then shook his head and left.

It's just that at the same time as he left, the East Palace also received the news that King Qi had become a vassal and officials from various provinces had been transferred.

In this regard, Zhu Ciran is naturally unlikely to sit idly by like this, but has to think of a way to deal with it.

"I want to transfer Sun Kewang back to Beizhili. In the current situation, he can at least stabilize Beizhili."

Facing Du Yinxi who had just delivered the news, while Zhu Ciran spoke, he also conferred official positions on others.

"Zhang Xiu served as the county magistrate of Tianjin, Liu Shun served as the general of the Army and Horse Division of the Shuntian Mansion, and Du Yinxi served as the prefect of the Shuntian Mansion."

Zhu Ciran assigned official positions to the three of them, obviously intending to firmly grasp the Shuntian Mansion.

Not only that, but he also said to Du Yinxi: "Tiaosun is expected to return to Beizhili and serve as magistrate of Tongzhou."

Shuntian, Tianjin, and Tongzhou, the former is the capital, the latter is the ferry of the emperor and the granary of the capital, as long as these three places are not lost, then everything is easy to talk about.

"I don't know if the Yanshan faction will stop it..."

Zhang Xiu hesitated to speak, but Zhu Ciran shook his head: "Their opponent is uncle, and we are just pawns."

"What we have to do is to guard our own three-acre land, and just don't cause trouble for uncle."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Ciran said to Du Yinxi again: "This matter must be notified to the emperor immediately."

"Secondly, we have to send someone to notify Li Dingguo, and don't let the second and third brothers have an accident."

Zhu Ciran arranged all kinds of affairs in an orderly manner, and his style of doing things was much more sophisticated than before, but it was still far behind Cheng De and others who had been tempered in the temple for a long time.

The decree issued by the Eastern Palace was quickly rejected, and the reason was very simple. He was only the crown prince and supervisor of the country, and all decrees had to be reviewed by the emperor before they could be issued.

Obviously, when he issued the decree yesterday, the officials could still carry it out in an orderly manner, but after only one day, his decree no longer worked.

Such a situation made Zhu Ciran unable to do much, he could only suppress his temper and send the decree to Nanjing City.

The situation of the East Palace soon spread throughout the outer court and the imperial city, and everyone was not surprised by this.

Before King Qi and the Yanshan faction broke up, the officials of the Yanshan faction could turn a blind eye to what the prince said, because he was the prince and King Qi was behind him.

But if the two sides are torn apart, then the crown prince is a pawn to restrain King Qi, and it is good that he can freely enter and leave the imperial city.

The city of Beijing is divided into the outer three cities, the inner city, the imperial city, and the palace city with four layers of city walls. Among them, Daxingying and Wanpingying are responsible for guarding the walls and gates of the outer three cities.

In charge of the walls and gates of the inner city is Bing Ma Si, in charge of the imperial city is Fei Xiong Wei, and in charge of the palace city are Dragon and Tiger Guard and Jing Jun.

The strength of Daxing Camp and Wanping Camp is 6000, and that of Beijing Bingma Division is 9000. These 5000 people are not under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial palace.

The only ones that could be mobilized by Zhu Ciran were Feixiongwei and Longhuwei, who were the three guards of the imperial city, and the Jingjun eunuchs whose number had been reduced to 3000 in the inner court.

Judging from the number of people, the two sides are similar, and because the Feixiongwei and Longhuwei are equipped with rifles, they are more elite than the battalions and soldiers in the outer city and inner city.

Bingmasi can only be equipped with flintlock guns, and only battalion soldiers and guards under the battalion guard system can be equipped with rifles.

From this point of view, it seems that if the capital soldiers, horses, and battalion soldiers are controlled by the Yanshan faction, the power of the inner and outer cities of the capital will be deprived soon.

But don't forget that, except for going out on expeditions, the four cavalry guards are stationed in the Nanyuan Barracks more than ten miles south of the capital all the year round.

As long as there is something wrong in the capital, the four cavalry guards can immediately notify the Shangzhi Sixteenth Guards near Beizhili, and the Shangzhi Gongwei camp.

For the defense of Baiwangfang, as long as the four cavalry guards did not set off, they would be rotated by the four cavalry guards.

Therefore, King Qi has a cavalry force of [-] guards in the city, and there are no less than [-] troops within a hundred miles outside the city. However, it is hard to say how many of these soldiers and horses are related to the Yanshan faction. up.

Of course, no matter how bold Cheng De and the others were, they did not dare to block Baiwangfang.

But it is not necessarily the case for Zhu Ciran, as long as Cheng De speaks, perhaps Zhu Ciran's people will not even be able to leave the imperial city.

Fortunately, the two sides haven't torn their skins to that point. Right now, everyone just smells like gunpowder, but it's not enough to explode.

Zhu Ciran's news was sent out of the capital, and Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting took the train to Nanjing.

Sun Chuanting did not choose to stay, because he had no foundation in the capital, and it was useless to stay.

Only when he leaves the capital can he be of use.

This kind of atmosphere full of gunpowder lasted for a long time, and Chengde also asked for leave for a full six days, and never went to Zhu Youjian to spread the matter out.

The conflict between the two parties is difficult to mediate. The Yanshan faction who wanted to go to Qi State had already applied to the Ministry of Officials for transfer since last year.

Those who stayed did not want to go to Qi.

They don't go to Qi State, and they don't want Zhu Youjian to go to Qi State. If Zhu Youjian wants to go to Qi State, they will definitely stop him.

If he couldn't stop him, he could go, but he couldn't suppress the Yanshan faction's influence in Daming.

The idea of ​​the Yanshan faction internal officials is very simple...

"Your King Qi is leaving, we can't keep it, but since you are leaving, don't worry about Daming's affairs."

When the chess piece fell, an official who was playing chess with Chengde uttered this rebellious sentence.

The two sat in the "narrow" quadrant courtyard of Chengde's residence in Guanlifang, playing chess unhurriedly, while the soldiers of the soldiers and horses stood at the door.

"It's because you are more far-sighted. You have placed people at the grassroots level early, and the transfer of His Highness away from the middle and high-level generals will not have a great impact on us."

As soon as the 24-year-old young official opened his mouth, Cheng De on the opposite side played chess leisurely, cutting off his retreat on the chessboard:
"Da Ming wants to reform, and if King Qi is not around, we will lead it."

Chengde's eyes were lowered, he looked a little absent-minded, but his tone was very firm.

The young official sitting opposite him nodded and nodded, but at the same time he said in puzzlement:

"Since that's the case, why didn't you stop His Highness's order to call Wu Aheng, Yang Wenyue and others back to Beijing?"

"It's not necessary..." Cheng De shook his head: "In the five armies' governor's mansion, [-]% of the generals at the middle and lower levels belong to us."

"Except for His Highness who can be shaken, it's useless for anyone else to come."

"The armies supporting Long Live are mainly the Northern Army, the Western Army, and the Southern Army."

"Most of the southern army is far away overseas, and the western army has assembled heavy troops in Luchuan. It needs to contain the southern captives. The northern army will send troops to recover Hezhong next year, and there is no possibility of delay."

"Your Highness can definitely guess what we think. He wants to hand over power. I have no objection, but the power cannot be granted to Long Live, but to the Crown Prince."

Cheng De's tone cannot be questioned. Facing his words, the opposite official couldn't help laughing and said, "Aren't you afraid that they will say that you are acting for private interests? The prince is your disciple..."

"They know better than me how the prince is doing." Cheng De was not at all confused, but at the same time he said:
"Even the prince can be deposed if he violates the "Yanshan" idea that the people are more important than the emperor."

"Imperial power cannot be lost, but it can be replaced."

"The people in Suiye City's army have reported that at least King Yong and King Ding are more approachable, have a gentle temper, and are very friendly to the people."

"You're wrong..." The official shook his head:
"His Highness can allow you to do many things, but he will not allow you to prevent him from handing over power."

"The crown prince has the right, but Wansui must also have it. In His Highness's heart, Wansui is more important than the crown prince and the common people."

The two talked to each other, and the dark clouds in the sky gradually dissipated, revealing the whole picture of the official.

"If your father knew about your behavior, he might break into my small courtyard and tear it down."

Cheng De felt a bit fluctuated, and looked up at Lu Yuangao who was facing him, wondering what Lu Yuangao wanted.

"Although you are also a graduate of the government school, but you were trying to get close to the prince earlier, but now you are falling for us. Do you think I should believe you?"

Cheng De questioned Lu Yuangao. Regarding this, Lu Yuangao said irrefutably: "I did have the idea of ​​following the dragon in my early years."

"However, after returning from traveling with His Royal Highness, I think your proposal of Minguijun is not bad."

Lu Yuan took a high tone, but continued:

"When the people in the Northwest are suffering, the officials of the Manchu Dynasty are all singing the praises of the prosperity."

"This prosperous age is theirs, not the prosperity of the world."

"I'm not cooperating with Yanshan, I'm cooperating with you, just because you dare to send corrupt officials inside Yanshan to me as a merit, you are worthy of cooperation."

Lu Yuangao said some unknown things, Chengde also frowned slightly, and said with dissatisfaction:

"I gave you the information on their corruption because I want your father to continue to sit in this position, and when you are old enough to hand over the position to you, instead of letting him return to the capital."

"Now that he has returned to the capital, the three thousand Jinyiwei in the capital will become a variable."

"No problem..." Seeing that the chess game was over, Lu Yuangao calmed down while cleaning up the game:

"I dare not say that I control all of the three thousand Jinyiwei in the capital, but at least [-]% of the Jinyiwei will obey my orders."

"However, I have to know what you guys want to do before I can help you."

"If I confront King Qi head-on, I'm afraid I will go to King Qi's mansion to plead guilty now."

"There are so many fake news, it's probably useless to plead guilty..." Cheng De took a sip of tea, and started the game with a sunspot.

"It's useless to try. Nine deaths are better than ten deaths and no lives." Lu Yuangao picked up Bai Ziluo and confronted Cheng De.

In Lu Yuangao's words, he was already full of his disapproval of the confrontation between Yanshan and King Qi.

Chengde is naturally clear, and similarly, he is not optimistic about the outcome of the confrontation between the Yanshan faction and King Qi, so he said:

"I know the character of His Highness King Qi. As long as we don't use weapons, His Royal Highness Qi won't be the first to use weapons."

"Do you want His Royal Highness King Qi not to use swords?" Lu Yuangao couldn't help smiling, and said:
"Using swords is the quickest and most trouble-free way. Although you have [-]% of the soldiers and horses in the Dudu Mansion, and [-]% of the soldiers and horses, if the soldiers below know that they are fighting against King Qi, they may change their flags in an instant."

"Not to mention King Qi's prestige is known all over the world. As long as His Highness opens his mouth to use weapons, the people everywhere will organize themselves when they hear the news."

"They can't stop Gongwei Battalion, but they can resist Bingmasi."

"Don't forget, all tribes in Uzang, Hexi, Modong and other places regard His Highness as a Bodhisattva, and there are more than [-] retired veterans in the country."

"Your Highness, once the sword is used, you will not be able to escape..."

"That only shows that you don't understand His Highness." Cheng De interrupted Lu Yuangao, and he met Lu Yuangao's eyes calmly:

"In the Battle of Jingnan, the people in Shandong and North Zhili had ten houses and nine empty houses. Millions of people died on the battlefield, and millions of people turned into refugees and became displaced."

"Although we are not as good as Emperor Zuwen, this time the scope is larger. Once His Highness wants to use swords, even if you can defeat us in one day, tens of thousands of people will die."

"If the war lasts for several months, it may take more than ten years for the country to recover."

"You are gambling with the lives of the common people?" Lu Yuangao touched his waist subconsciously, but found nothing.

His behavior was noticed by Cheng De, but Cheng De explained without panic:

"It's not gambling with the lives of the people, but to tell you what the result of using the sword will be."

"What we want is a world where the people are more important than the emperor and the emperor is less important. The imperial power can exist, and Yanshan Mountain can also exist. The difference is just how much power each party holds."

"We are not forcing His Highness to hand over power to us, but we do not want to hand over too much power to the crown prince, long live."

"Great famine in Huaibei...Shaanxi civil uprising...Sichuan gentry chaos..."

"This turmoil has dragged His Highness back a lot. If there were no such turmoil, the country would have been able to pacify Jianlu several years in advance, and the people would not have encountered such a situation."

"If the Ming Dynasty wants to reform, the first thing to reform is the power of the royal family, and the second is the conservative officials."

"I don't need His Highness to delegate power to us, I just need His Highness to ignore everything, and that's enough."

Chengde's words reminded Lu Yuangao of the hardships of the people in Shanshan and Shaanxi when he accompanied Zhu Youjian last time, as well as the smiles of the people in Hexi and Wusi Tibet.

His frown gradually eased, and finally he opened his mouth to remind:

"Three guards in the imperial city, internal money, decision-making power... that's all I can tell you."

"Thank you." Hearing Lu Yuangao's words, Cheng De's eyes lit up.

Obviously, what Lu Yuangao was in was Zhu Youjian's bottom line, and with Zhu Youjian's bottom line, Cheng De could negotiate with King Qi better.

"His Highness has already summoned Yan Yinshao and Jin Xuan back, and they will be able to arrive in the capital by June next year at the latest."

"Instead of thinking about these things, I think you should resolve the internal problems of Yanshan first."

Lu Yuangao reminded Chengde, but Chengde shook his head when he heard the words:

"Your Highness wants to divide us, but I think I can convince Yan Yinshao."

"What about Jin Xuan?" Lu Yuangao asked Cheng De back, this question caused Cheng De to be silent for a few seconds, and then he opened his mouth and said:

"Even if Boyu disagrees, he won't oppose me."

"I hope so..." Lu Yuangao took a deep look, then got up, as if he didn't intend to finish the game of chess.

Regarding this, Cheng De didn't say anything, but watched him put on his shoes and walk out of the courtyard.

"The boy is still too young..." Cheng De showed a smile, and Lu Yuangao, who had left the small courtyard, also returned to the Lu Mansion in a carriage.

After coming to the Lu residence, he didn't look for anyone else, but even went to the study, where he saw Lu Wenzhao.

Seeing him come back, Lu Wenzhao also got up quickly: "How is it?"

Obviously, what Lu Yuangao did was ordered by him, and Cheng De's words also showed that he knew it very well.

Faced with the question, Lu Yuangao also bowed and said:
"Chengde and the others are not going to use swords. Regarding the bottom line of His Highness, the boy has also conveyed it to him..."

"However, judging from their situation, Hai'er feels that they really have no intention of using weapons."

"It's better not to use weapons..." Hearing this, Lu Wenzhao breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think Chengde should know that I was sent by His Highness." Lu Yuangao hesitated to express his conjecture, but Lu Wenzhao didn't find it strange, he comforted:

"If he can't see it, he is not worthy to lead Yanshan officials."

"Instead of sending a scheming person to make them guess wildly, it is better to send someone who is easy to see to inquire about the news."

"You've done a good job, Your Highness' goal should have been achieved."

"What about after that?" Lu Yuangao couldn't help asking Lu Wenzhao back, which made Lu Wenzhao slightly frown: "I don't know much about the next thing."

"His Royal Highness always does things like an antelope's horns and cannot be found. This is true in wars, and it is also true in dealing with this group of civil servants."

"Fortunately, Chengde and the others have a single idea, which is much easier to deal with than the Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuankun, Donglin and other six parties back then."

"You don't have to worry about this matter, His Highness can handle it properly."

Lu Wenzhao comforted Lu Yuangao, but he could only let go of his uneasiness, and after chatting with Lu Wenzhao about other things, he bowed and left the study.

Lu Wenzhao didn't believe the news brought back by Lu Yuangao either, but waited until the Jin Yiwei hidden in the official workshop handed over the news through other Jin Yiwei, he generally believed it, and arranged for someone to send the news to Qi Palace during the curfew.

Under his arrangement, Zhu Youjian obtained information about the attitude of the Yanshan faction that night.

After reading it, he threw the news into the fire with a serious face.

Seeing this, Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen next to him were a little curious and couldn't help asking:

"Your Highness, isn't it a good thing that the Yanshan faction is not so aggressive? Why is your face..."

"If they are really not radical, that would be a good thing, but is their appeal really that simple?"

Zhu Youjian asked the two of them back, and after thinking for a while with his hands behind his back, he continued:

"Who are Li Deyu and Zhang Maocai in the Yanshan faction? You know better than me. They clamored to force the palace in Qianqing Palace back then. Now they will suddenly agree to me as a vassal?"

"Besides, I'm the queen of the feudal clan, and they will lead the national policy of Ming Dynasty. That's what I'm worried about."

"What I want right now is not radicalism, but stability."

"Lu Yuangao is still too immature. The news he tricked out is irrelevant. It looks more like the Yanshan faction's plan to slow down the troops."

"Then, Your Highness, what should we do?" Cao Huachun stepped forward and asked, after all, Yanshan was so powerful that it was difficult to get rid of it in one go.

After going to the Yanshan School, Daming became a vegetable in a short period of time, not to mention muscle atrophy, and it may be difficult to make further progress in the next ten years.

"Do you want to stop the expedition next year?" Wang Chengen stepped forward and asked cautiously, but Zhu Youjian resolutely vetoed it:

"The Western Expedition must be carried out. Right now is the best chance to regain the river and the east of the Lingbei Mountains (Ural Mountains)."

"As for the Yanshan faction's plan to slow down the troops, let's not worry about it for the time being. I want to see what they can slow down."

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but put a smile on his face, because now not only the Yanshan faction needs to slow down the troops, but Zhu Youjian also needs to slow down the troops.

As soon as this year is over, the severe drought will subside. There will never be such a severe drought as in the past two years, and Daming's finances will improve instantly.

Cheng De and the others can predict everything, but they cannot predict this natural disaster.

Even if Zhu Youjian has no clue, with this natural disaster, he can do too much...

Update at [-] p.m.