The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 466 Diversified Investments
Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang asked Li Rong to call Zhang Zhou over. He did not let anyone else watch, but he seriously discussed with Zhang Zhou the results of this military inspection.

"...Things that can be used are still usable, and things that cannot be used are still the same."

Zhu Youtang didn't speak clearly.

But the implication is that for the generals of the Ming Dynasty, whether they have been cultivated by Zhang Zhou and Yanwu Hall, the difference is too big. It is no longer just a matter of gold plating, it is almost a world of difference.

Li Rong smiled and said: "Your Majesty, don't you still have Princess Yongkang's consort?"

Zhu Youtang glanced sideways at Li Rong and said: "You don't think I can see that Cui Yuan did what he did because of someone's advice? It's one thing for him to study seriously, but really let him go to the battlefield to lead Is there much difference between fighting as a soldier and talking about it on paper? The meaning of my praise for him does not lie in how well he did it, but in that he had the intention."

To set you up as a model is not how well you do, but because you have a correct attitude.

"I have also read Duke Baoguo's report. I can't say whether he is qualified to lead the army."

Zhu Youtang took out a separate memorial, which was about Zhu Hui's summary of this inspection, or the "military order" that Zhu Hui wanted to issue. After all, based on the emperor's previous ideas, there were also cakes drawn for the ministers. Zhu Hui will be the honorable minister, that is, the commander-in-chief, who will lead the troops to the Loop next time.

If even Zhu Hui cannot know his troops well and make good use of them, then everything will be in vain.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, what are your expectations for Duke Baoguo?"

Zhu Youtang pondered for a moment and replied seriously: "Of course I can't expect him to lead troops on the grassland like you Bingkuan or Wang Shouren, but at least he can't lose the face of the Ming Dynasty. Or the face of these old heroes. , many of them are aristocratic families who have fought on the battlefield since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and they were also the pillars of the Ming Dynasty. If even they cannot hold up the building, you can't blame me!"

As soon as this word comes out.

Li Rong on the side suddenly felt a chill running down his spine.

It used to be thought that the emperor asked Zhu Hui and other old warriors to lead the troops in battle in order to ease the conflict between the old and new martial arts forces and ensure the harmonious development of the governor's government system.

Now I suddenly feel that... the emperor really wants to attack the old ministers, but there seems to be no reasonable reason. He just wants to take advantage of this battle to remove a group of old ministers and replace them with new ones.

Li Rong thought in his mind, even though Cai Guo was a bully, he could only bring out very few people. Can he replace the old honor system just by relying on the power of fighting the Tatars in the past two years?
……

……

Zhang Zhou didn't have much idea about the dispute between old and new.

In other words, even if he has an idea, because he is a participant himself, he cannot overly evaluate it in front of Zhu Youtang. It is more like watching the fire from the other side.

What's old and new... Even if I make someone new, it's still a dispute between the people I brought out and the old people. Regardless of whether they are old or new, I will step aside. Who says I must represent the new forces?
Old honorable ministers, don’t you also want to get closer to me now?Xinxun's door is always open to everyone in the court. Just like old stubborn Zhang Maozhang, why don't you push your children and grandchildren to my side?

"Mr. Zhang, do you think your Majesty has too much expectations for Baoguo Gong and the others? Your Majesty never wants to be disappointed when it comes to matters on the battlefield. There was no chance before, but now... His Majesty wants to revitalize the military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty... …It all depends on you.”

Li Rong was responsible for sending Zhang Zhou out of the palace.

Instead of going to Shangtingchu or Wenhua Palace, he left the palace directly because Zhu Youtang was very enthusiastic about the new fire blunderbuss and hurriedly asked Zhang Zhou to improve the fire blunderbuss.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Eunuch Li is devoted to your majesty. It is really admirable."

"What the hell." Li Rong said with a look of shame, "How can an old man do anything for the Ming Dynasty? I just want to share your worries for His Majesty... I think this kind of thinking is the same as Mr. Zhang's. I think that the Chinese My general, who doesn’t think like this? It’s just that there are differences in ability or status, so I don’t dare to overstep.”

Zhang Zhou said: "Then Eunuch Li thinks, what can I do to relieve His Majesty's worries?"

Li Rong said with emotion: "From what our family has seen, when it comes to military and political matters, if you just say a few words, it will be more effective than those brave generals who have been fighting on the front line for decades. As long as you are willing to mention If you click on these leaders, they will always have a chance."

Zhang Zhou shook his head and said, "Eunuch Li, what you said is wrong. Does it sound like I want to trick them and deliberately prevent them from winning on the battlefield?"

Li Rong said hurriedly: "Our family has no such intention."

Zhang Zhouzhou walked aside and said: "Actually, I have already thought about the possible gains and losses of this battle. I sent out troops with great fanfare and tens of thousands of troops marched into the grassland. Most of the Tatars will not fight head-on. Let me guess what they will do. I can't guess where the royal court or the garrison is, so what is the meaning of this battle? Wherever we fight, we will count. Or should we set a goal and not return troops until the goal is achieved?"

Li Rongben was also afraid that the confrontation between the old and the new in the DPRK would be too fierce, so he gave Zhang Zhou advice.

After listening to Zhang Zhou's words, he also thought about it for a while.

It's not that Zhang Zhou doesn't want to help, it's just that he can't help.

Li Rongdao: "What about the Tatars taking the initiative to fight back?"

"Haha." Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "That's actually good. In a head-on battle, if the coordination of troops, horses, equipment, etc. is almost the same, we won't be afraid even of the Tatar cavalry, right? The outcome depends on the performance of the frontline generals. For me, a person who hides behind and can only paint, it doesn’t mean much.”

"Yes, yes."

Li Rong thought for a while and commented, "It's just merit if there's no fault."

Li Rong also figured it out.

The chance that Baoguo Gong and other old ministers will return without success in this battle is about [-] to [-]%. The war with the Tatars is also likely to be just a taste, and it is unlikely to develop into a large-scale battle. In other words, it is Zhu Hui wanted a decisive battle, but after the Tatars experienced the setbacks in the past two years, they were unlikely to give Ming this chance.

Then Zhu Hui's mission changed from winning on the battlefield to not making big mistakes.

When he was about to arrive at the palace gate, he saw Cui Yuan entering the palace under the guidance of a luxurious woman.

Li Rong took a look from a distance and was a little surprised.

Why did the eldest princess and her husband enter the palace together?It seems that there is no need to summon him.

"That's it?" Zhang Zhou looked away with a smile.

Li Rong said hurriedly: "You don't have to get close. It's the eldest princess Yongkang and the prince-in-law. They think they are here to meet the saint... or they may be here to pay their respects to the empress dowager, the empress dowager, and others."

"Oh." Zhang Zhou smiled.

I was also thinking in my mind that Cui Yuan looked heroic, but he seemed to be a blockhead in politics. It seemed that his mother-in-law was more interested in pursuing fame and fortune than he himself.

……

……

Shouning Hou Mansion.

For several days in a row, the front door of the mansion was crowded with guests, and a bunch of people came to give gifts. It seemed that the two old Zhang brothers had not enjoyed this kind of treatment for a long time.

Zhang Yanling ran to her brother's house to eat and drink. When she saw so many big and small boxes of things, she immediately became very angry and started shouting at her brother: "Brother, you performed better than me during the school inspection." Are you okay? Why did they give you gifts but not me?" Zhang Heling asked his servants to carry gifts inside, and said with a smile: "Boy, you don't understand. Now everyone knows that our brother-in-law is nepotistic. , We should treat each other as brothers, and treat it as a gift to me as a gift to you. The Zhang family is in the same spirit."

Zhang Yanling said: "What do you mean? The same spirit connects the branches? Does that mean we will share half of it when we meet?"

"The pattern." Zhang Heling said, "Do you like these three melons and two dates?"

"Yeah." Zhang Yanling nodded seriously, "I don't think it's too little if you're polite. Besides, eldest brother, even if my brother-in-law is really nepotistic, it doesn't seem to be the case for us now, right?"

"Okay, even you can see that now we are not the closest people to brother-in-law? Oops! Speaking of which, Zhang Bingkuan is the one who doesn't want them, so these people will send them to us... Why do you think this is? From what I can tell I know that my brother-in-law is going to lead the army to the grassland with Zhu Hui, the protector of the country. He is the commander-in-chief. Guess what, one of us brothers must be the deputy commander. As for who should accompany the army and who can win the appreciation of brother-in-law in the future. It all depends on who we recommend."

Zhang Heling's rhetoric was usually to show off his knowledge to his younger brother.

"Really?" Zhang Yanling frowned.

This time he heard that his elder brother's analysis was not very reliable.

Who do we brothers recommend...are you sure it will be useful?
Zhang Heling said: "You see that even the old Cui family member can take the lead, you know how good my brother-in-law is at using kisses when hiring people. Aren't you and the old Cui family member still related? He is your brother-in-law... You think otherwise, As a brother, I won’t argue with you. This time I go to the Hetao, and you will be the deputy commander...I will also ask people to give you more gifts later, and I will fawn over you, what do you think?"

Zhang Yanling frowned and said: "You accepted the gift and didn't you become the deputy commander yourself and gave the 'opportunity' to me? Brother, don't think I'm stupid. You never think about giving up good things. Just tell me what you think." .”

"Don't say this to hurt your temper. Let's have a couple of drinks, and I'll talk to you slowly."

Zhang Heling was not in a hurry. He took his younger brother inside and served him the best food and wine, as if he didn't mind his younger brother coming to eat and drink.

This made Zhang Yanling even more unsure.

……

……

Three rounds of wine.

Zhang Heling made his meaning clear: "... From now on, if you stay with Jiuxun, the benefits will belong to you. From now on, as a brother, I will follow Zhang Bingkuan. I will go as a new rich man. We brothers must spread the treasures and bet them." Do you know? If you want to fold it, you can’t fold it together.”

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Yanling slapped the table and stood up, angrily saying: "Why should I stay on the old side and you go to the new side?"

Zhang Heling narrowed his eyes and said: "Because I am the boss, everything in the Zhang family will depend on me in the future."

"You have been eating salt and rice for two years as the boss, so you are better than me?" Zhang Yanling was even more unhappy.

Zhang Heling curled his lips and said: "Who told me to inherit all the titles left by my father? Don't you agree? Since ancient times in Ming Dynasty, the eldest son has inherited the family business. You are the youngest, so don't know how to seize the opportunity given to you. .”

"you you……"

Zhang Yanling was so angry that she sat there muttering for a long time and said viciously, "It's too much to bully others."

Zhang Heling said: "Second brother, you are not a shallow person. What do you think is the most important thing about being a new rich man? It is to have a good relationship with Zhang Bingkuan. With your arrogance and never suffering a loss, you know how? Flatter him?"

"Am I flattering him?" Zhang Yanling almost wanted to roll up her sleeves.

"Look, you still have the same idea as before. Do you want to have my sister to support us and we will not be afraid of anything? Now our brother-in-law even has a little son, and the eldest nephew is still so picky about us. Well, why don't you think about it, how can Zhang Bingkuan be so successful in the palace? And sometimes we will suffer? It's all because we don't flatter others."

Zhang Heling spoke eloquently, "Brother, I am older and more prudent. I have to lower my face at critical moments and make plans in the court. Naturally, I need to make sacrifices. In the future, we can't rely entirely on my sister's power... I let It's a good thing that you stay with the old minister, because you don't have to consider what others think, you can eat and drink as you should, be as uninhibited as you should, and it won't affect you."

Zhang Yanling said angrily: "Are you bullying me for not being able to use my brain? What nonsense?"

"Snapped!"

Zhang Heling also slapped the table and said, "Second brother, from now on, our family must find someone to use the strategy. If you are not smart enough, you must listen to me. If you are still like before, rushing forward in everything, you will be wrong." Don't say that I won't help you because I'm a brother."

"Bah! With my sister here, who am I afraid of?" Zhang Yanling threw the wine glass to the ground.

But at this moment, a servant came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Duke Baoguo invited a few people to drink in the house and said that he would like to invite you to come with him to accompany them."

"Okay, here we go." Zhang Heling stood up and was about to clean up.

Zhang Yanling said: "What do you mean? Why does the person named Zhu invite you to drink?"

Zhang Heling said: "Don't you understand? He regards me as the deputy commander... If I tell him, I will recommend you to be the deputy commander. I will give you the opportunity to drink with those honorable ministers in the future and let them I’m giving you a gift, will you go?”

"This one……"

Zhang Yanling was originally very reluctant to defect to Jiu Xun's side, but she heard that it would be beneficial to get closer to that side, and the principled stance was nonsense, "I will go today."

Zhang Heling said angrily: "No one invited you to go. Do you know why they invited you? Because I represent the Zhang family. Even if you want to represent the Zhang family and vote for them, you still have to recommend me to your brother! Second brother, old brother Second, I’ve helped you so much as a brother, but you still think I’m harming you.”

"Humph!"

Zhang Yanling sat there feeling depressed.

Zhang Heling said: "After you finish drinking, go back by yourself. Don't spend the night in my house! You guys keep an eye on him and don't let him take anything with him when he leaves. Don't let him enter the inner courtyard."

"Where are your singers and dancers?" Zhang Yanling asked.

"What a beautiful idea! No!" Zhang Heling angrily said.

Zhang Yanling cursed and said: "You say you will help me, but you are polite and don't give me any good things. I don't believe you!"

Wait for Zhang Heling to leave quickly.

Zhang Yanling got up and wanted to go out.

"Second Master, you don't have to go back in a hurry." A servant from Shouning Hou Mansion reminded.

Zhang Yanling said: "I still have things to do when I go back."

As I walked, I was thinking, if you ask me to join Jiuxun, will I join?Do you think I'm stupid?Wouldn't I take the initiative to join Zhang Bingkuan?In this kind of thing... isn't it better to strike first?
　During the re-examination on Tuesday, the bilirubin dropped to 2. The doctor actually suggested that I be transferred to a local infectious disease hospital. In order not to be hospitalized, I agreed to my wife's bed rest.Will check again on Tuesday.Starting from today, 180 words will be updated every day, and the amount of updates will be gradually increased.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)