Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 496 6.67 Wu Xun has completely surrendered
Volume VI

6.67 Wu Xun has been completely attached
That night, the originally unstable capital fell into deathly silence again. The elite Shenji Battalion troops entered the city in full force. Five flintlock gunmen and two infantry cannons on each side took over the city defenses, completely blocking the entire connection between the inside and outside of the capital. , the cavalry with the general flag as the unit patrolled and monitored everywhere. Anyone who violated the curfew would be shot first and then reviewed, which instantly reduced the consumption of "nightlife" in the capital to almost non-existence.

Not only that, all yamen are stationed by a hundred households, and all official business or transactions are monitored. All official officials above the doctor level are guarded by at least a small flag at the door. This is especially true for first-level ministers such as Lin Ruhai and Li Mian. A general banner was arranged for "protection", and even the palace was taken over by a firearm infantry Qianhu, four infantry artillery Baihu and a cavalry governor. The imperial army led by Chen Yejun disarmed and disbanded on the spot, including Chen Yejun himself. They were all driven home.

The next morning, Rongguo Mansion, Rongxi Hall.

The Jia Mansion, which had not seen any big shots for a long time, became lively again tonight. Except for Niu Jizong, Hou Xiaokang, Qiu Liang, and Shi Guangzhu who went with the army to Baishan Heishui, all the other heads or princes of the four princes and eight princes' families were present and took their seats together. For the banquet, it's a pity that Jia She, Jia Lian and Jia Qiang are the only family members in Jia's house, and everyone else is far away.

However, although the food and wine were good, the atmosphere was not so harmonious.

"Zhou Ziyang, General Zhou, which song are you singing today?" At this time, Liu Fang, the left servant of the Ministry of War, who had the highest position in the military service in Beijing, glanced around and saw that the Shenji Camp Guards Cavalry was in full control. Surrounded by the entire banquet, it seemed like a fly couldn't fly out, so he said angrily, "I know the capabilities of the elite soldiers of your Shenji Battalion, but you don't think that everyone in the world will be honest and obedient, right?"

"Uncle Liu, Prince Shui, uncles and brothers." Zhou Yang raised his glass with a smile and drank it all in one gulp. Unfortunately, there was no one to drink with him. "You guys may have misunderstood. You must have heard about the news about the White Mountains and Black Waters." I know that the current situation of the royal family’s heirs is familiar to you, and please don’t forget that I am still the royal family’s son-in-law.”

"Zi Yang is talking about the old stories of Emperor Sejong?" Compared with a group of pure military generals, the always low-key but smart King Beijing Shui Xiu reacted much faster, "But even if the royal family has this precedent, it should be the Supreme Emperor, The Queen Mother came forward to summon us, and Ziyang just took care of the matter. I'm afraid it won't sound good if we tell it, right?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhou Yang cupped his hands and smiled, turned to look at Chen Yejun who was still glaring at him and said, "Senior Brother Chen, please don't just be angry. The reason why your Qianhu was so happily dealt with yesterday, I have forgotten what it was. Someone came forward as a guarantee? Xia Shouzhong and Xia Neixiang have been serving the Supreme Emperor all their lives. He is not someone who can be forced."

"Zi Yang is serious." When Zhou Yang said this, Chen Yejun was unsure and asked in a very hesitant tone.

"Everyone, take a look." Zhou Yang took out the edict of succession stamped with the Emperor's "Dragon Head Palace Seal" and the Queen Mother's Phoenix Seal from his arms, handed it directly to Beijing Wang Shuirong and said, "'The Emperor's Treasure' Yuxi followed His Majesty to Baishan Heishui, and it will take some days to come, but with the intention of these two, you should have no doubts, right?"

The bright yellow imperial edict was passed repeatedly among dozens of warriors, and there was no human voice in the huge Rongxi hall, only the rustling sound of the edict being passed and read, and the sound of breathing getting heavier and heavier , obviously, everyone has realized what this banquet means today.

There is not much text in the edict, and no one is interested in reading it carefully at this time. After basically confirming the description of the succession and the seal at the end, it is handed over to the next one. Even so, it took a full stick of incense to work. The imperial edict was passed back to Zhou Yang, and he didn't say much. He just rolled up the edict, raised his right hand high, and looked at the martial arts heroes with cold eyes.

"Chen Shuirong pays homage to Your Majesty!" It was still the young Prince of Beijing Jing who was the first to kneel on the ground after only a moment, followed by Liu Fang who had read the edict, and the others followed. They knelt down in a hurry, and soon they were all kneeling on the ground, until no one except Zhou Yang stood in the Hall of Rongxi.

"Uncles and brothers, please stand up and take your seats!" After a moment of delay, Zhou Yang put away the edict in satisfaction, knowing that the goal of the first step - "obtaining the support of all families in name" had been achieved, he immediately entered the second step. Step by step, "Everyone is a warrior, and the current situation of the court must be known. Although the common people can't get rid of us when they mention wealth, but in the court, it's not so easy to talk about?"

There was a murmur of whispers at the scene immediately. Everyone realized that someone was making a condition, and everyone looked excited. Many fallen martial artists began to complain, so that the Hall of Honor became Somewhat noisy.

"What is your Majesty's order?" The noise passed by in a flash, and everyone began to look at Zhou Yang eagerly. King Shuirong of Beijing said respectfully, "If you need anything, please don't be polite!"

"Since ancient times, civil and military officials have always been referred to in the imperial court. When talking about being an official, they often use the phrase 'civil and military officials'. This is a truth that everyone understands." Zhou Yang looked at everyone and said with a smile, "But everyone here understands that there are not many positions left for me and other warriors above the court, or in other words, too few!

When it comes to high-ranking officials, the five cabinet elders and the six ministers are the first to be recommended. However, except for the positions of Grand Scholar of Wuyingdian and Minister of the Ministry of War, the others are all civil servants. On weekdays, Uncle Niu is the only one in front of His Majesty. Uncle Liu, who has little qualifications to speak, do you think this is reasonable? "Boom -" If the previous mention of the difference between civil and military forces only caused fluctuations, as soon as these words came out, the scene basically exploded!
"Everyone, calm down!" After being noisy for a long time, seeing Zhou Yang watching with a smile, Liu Fang quickly stepped forward to put order in order. It wasn't until the scene returned to calm that she said anxiously, "Um, your majesty, what do you have?"

"What I mean is very simple. Since the civil and military affairs are juxtaposed, they should be divided into their own families. From now on, the court officials can be divided into two parts, one is the Government Affairs Council for civilian officials, and the other is the Privy Council for military generals. By the way, the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army will be abolished. ." Zhou Yang said with a smile, "Let's not mention the affairs of the Government Affairs Council. The Privy Council is in charge of the world's military and is only responsible to me. This sentence means that no one else has the right to interfere!"

"Separation of civil and military affairs is the most reasonable thing in the world." Bei Jing Wang Shui Rong said with a smile on his face, "But I don't know how the Privy Council divides it?"

"The Privy Council is divided into high and low levels. The high level assists me in counseling military aircraft, so it is called 'Military Minister'. I mean there are five people. The military aircraft leader is naturally reserved for Uncle Niu." Zhou Yang deliberately only said one , The other four places made the eyes of the high-ranking military officers on the scene shine brightly, "From now on, all military affairs will be merged into the Privy Council—the Minister of Military Aircraft, who is the elder of the same cabinet.

Not only matters related to the Ministry of War, but also other matters such as officer registration and registration are not allowed to be interfered by other departments, and there is no need to go to the Ministry of Personnel to register. Logistics, equipment, etc. are also under the name of the Privy Council. Of course, The affairs in the military are complicated and there are many clues, and there is definitely no way to settle them down in a few words. When the time comes, I have to trouble everyone to discuss and formulate a charter. "

"This is a matter within the scope of my duties!" All the martial arts heroes were laughing so hard that they couldn't open their eyes, so they naturally bowed and agreed one by one.

"Your Majesty just mentioned the five military ministers -" Liu Fang's face was full of excitement. The title of "Your Majesty" was already very smooth, and he almost didn't directly ask "Do you think I can do it?" Fortunately, he held it back. , "Is it like the five cabinet ministers today, each with his or her own duties?"

"Of course!" Zhou Yang smiled and nodded, "However, I am also planning to make some adjustments here. From now on, both the military minister and the cabinet minister will only be in charge of duties, but they will no longer be allowed to hold vacated positions concurrently. For example, today's Minister of Rites is in charge of various affairs such as culture and education, imperial examinations, sacrifices, etc., and he is also the elder of the pavilion. This is absolutely unacceptable."

After saying this, everyone at the scene obviously calmed down a lot.

"Your Majesty, you mean that all the positions mentioned in the future will be held by officials, while military aircraft and cabinet ministers will only be in charge of these officials?" After a while, Wang Shuirong of Beijing asked calmly.

"That's right. Otherwise, if the military commanders and cabinet ministers are in high positions and have a lot of affairs in their hands, and if they do something like 'disciples and former officials are all over the world', I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep peacefully." Zhou Yang said very directly, His expression was extremely serious, "Not to mention in the military. If the minister of military aircraft is in charge of military affairs and leads the elite soldiers, then do these soldiers and horses belong to me or to which military aircraft?"

Now everyone understood. To put it simply, from now on, senior officials will be in charge of all affairs in the court, regardless of whether they are civil or military, but these people will not interfere in direct affairs; there will be officials in charge of all affairs, but they will also be responsible to the minister in charge of military affairs. The two They complement each other and jointly manage the government and military affairs - if they also know the situation of modern countries, they will know the origin of this way of governing the country.

"In this way, all aspects of government affairs must be divided in more detail, right?" Shui Rong thought about it and laughed, "Otherwise, no matter how capable the military officers and ministers are, they will not be able to understand everything and do it well. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid the problem below will be serious and the top will be confused. How is this the way to govern a country?"

"Of course it is. Just like the Ministry of Rites that I mentioned just now, it is in charge of imperial examinations, culture and education, sacrifices and even reception in vassal countries. Isn't it too powerful? The Ministry of Industry is in charge of various constructions such as water conservancy, roads, industry and mining. Isn’t the supervision a bit excessive?” Zhou Yang said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" No matter who was high or low, everyone in Wu Xun showed a happy smile. Shui Rong even bowed and said, "Please don't mind your Majesty if I have something to say. According to the court practice, your Majesty should call himself 'I'" !”

"My dear, what you said makes sense!" Zhou Yang smiled and raised his wine glass again, because Wu Xun had completely surrendered, "In that case, can you all have a drink with me?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)