Chapter 1236 The layout of the Geng scroll

 What Wang Wenyan said is not unreasonable.

The first and second governments are in short supply, and the court is well aware of it. This kind of tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall is nothing new. Didn't this happen in the salt administration of Zhejiang and Zhejiang in the past few years? But five or six major governments have used this method to cover up. This does not mean they are really trying to make up for the shortfall, but are trying to demonstrate. This is obviously unreasonable.

It is impossible for the imperial court not to investigate this kind of situation. At that time, many people will definitely lose their official positions or even be imprisoned. Since they know that this kind of situation will happen, why don't they think of ways to make up for it first? At least don't make it ugly. If the situation persists and the court is not treated with dignity, then it will be self-destruction.

Anyone who can sit in the position of magistrate in these big mansions is an easy person. In terms of means and ability, they are not bad. If you want to raise one or two hundred thousand taels of silver or tens of thousands of stones of grain, no matter what you do, The method is not difficult for them, otherwise these situations would not have accumulated over a year or two, and many of them were even dragged down by the previous term. They have fooled them all these years, so why don't they plan to fool them this year?

Even though this is a year of great planning, people from the capital procuratorate will definitely be particularly strict, but once every three years, hasn’t it happened before? I haven’t seen many people fall off the horse, so why do you respond like this this time?

“So Wenyan, what do you think is the problem here?”

Feng Ziying asked after a long time, but Wang Wenyan immediately heard the hidden meaning in Feng Ziying's words, "Your Excellency, you also have doubts?"

“Well, you tell me first, and I’ll see if our guesses are consistent.” Feng Ziying nodded.

"One possibility is that there are too many arrears over the years, and some people are worried that they will not be able to make it through. Moreover, in the new year, the Minister of Household Affairs will be changed. A scholar from the south of the Yangtze River will be appointed as the Minister of Household Affairs. Rather than wait until he is found guilty and imprisoned in the future, for example, while I have one of my own as the Minister of Household Affairs, and there are three Jiangnan scholars in the cabinet. In addition, Daofu Gong has always been close to the Jiangnan scholars. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We just happen to solve it at the same time, which can be regarded as removing this pustule."

It has to be said that Wang Wenyan has a very clear view of the situation between the DPRK and China. Zheng Jizhi will definitely not give up as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but he will take office after the new year. The new Minister of the Ministry of Revenue comes from the Jiangnan lineage, and in addition to the Jiangnan faction and the Jiangnan faction in the current cabinet, There are as many as four cabinet ministers in Jiangnan, which is a good time to solve such problems.

Taking advantage of the absolute advantage of the Jiangnan Party, the big bosses in charge of the DPRK and China, it is undoubtedly a good option to completely solve the problems left over from previous years and avoid damaging too many interests of Jiangnan, but this will make the court The national treasury is in a more difficult situation. How does the cabinet respond to this? What would Emperor Yonglong think?

“Well, that makes sense, but judging from the meaning of Wenyan, this is just a possibility. Are there any others?” Feng Ziying smiled and nodded, signaling Wang Wenyan to continue.

"Another possibility is that changes occurred in Jiangnan. Because the imperial court invested too much in Jiubian and added Governor Denglai in the early stage, it also caused dissatisfaction in Jiangnan. Especially after the Japanese pirates invaded the southern line along the river, it caused unrest in the hearts of the people in Jiangnan. The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River were greatly affected by this, so they took this opportunity to force the imperial court."

Wang Wenyan considered his words, probably feeling that this possibility was a bit alarmist.

"Nanjing Liubu has always been a place for the imperial court to send idle people, and basically there are many scholars from the south of the Yangtze River, such as Tang Binyin, Gu Tianjun, Miao Changqi, He Shijin, Yao Zongwen and others. Now they gather in Nanjing Liubu, making noise in the market and commenting on current affairs. Among them, Tang Binyin is running outside, Gu Tianjun is planning inside, and Miao Changqi and Yao Zongwen are the backbone. Now they also seize this opportunity to launch an attack..."

 Gu Tianjun was the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, while Miao Changqi was appointed as the Minister of the Right Capital of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate the year before last, Yao Zongwen was the Right Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing, and Tang Binyin was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing last year.

“Although Huang Yanshi was the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, he was jointly attacked by Tang Binyin, Miao Changqi, Yao Zongwen and others. He was in a very difficult situation. He had already written to the imperial court to ask for transfer, but the imperial court never agreed..."

Among the six bureaus in Nanjing, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Husbandry are the strongest. The Ministry of War in Nanjing is in charge of the mobilization of guards in the four provinces of Nanjing, Jiangxi, Huguang, and Zhejiang. Local officials were selected and appointed, while the Nanjing Ministry of Industry was responsible for the affairs of the four provinces, but its power was much smaller. The Ministry of Punishments was the same as the Ministry of Personnel, and only the Ministry of Rites was purely a place for retirement and leisure.

"Wen Yan, do you think it's just the provocations of these Jiangnan scholars?" Feng Ziying shook her head, "These gentry certainly have some influence, and the Six Ministries of Nanjing did find the right time and reason, but they are court officials after all, and they realize Are there no risks involved? Once the emperor becomes angry, and if the cabinet supports it, wouldn’t it be just a matter of official documents to purge the six departments in Nanjing?”

Wang Wenyan hesitated and shook his head: "But even if the emperor is angry, how can the cabinet comply? The first and second assistants won't agree, especially the second assistant and Er Li..."

"It's different. Although they are Jiangnan scholars or close to Jiangnan scholars, they are also court officials. They stand at different angles and see the problem from different heights. They clearly understand that the needs of the nine sides are the top priority. , if the needs of the nine sides are not met, the world will collapse, unless they dare to think of giving up the entire north like in the Song Dynasty..."

 Feng Ziying explained patiently.

Wang Wenyan shook his head subconsciously. No scholar and civil servant could bear such a responsibility. Even the most conservative and local scholars in Jiangnan did not dare to say that they would abandon the north. The concept of great unification had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. During the two Song Dynasties, Being weak has always been criticized by scholars, but no one can accept this current concept of the times.

"Of course, what I'm talking about is just an extreme situation. The Six Ministries of Nanjing are not entirely controlled by a group of short-sighted scholars. It is more likely to be a game process between Jiangnan scholars and the imperial court. It's just a bargaining process. Maybe they think There are currently four ministers from the Jiangnan faction and those who are pro-Jiangnan in the cabinet. It is difficult for the Qi army to support them alone, and the emperor does not dare to be too tough under the current constraints of the Supreme Emperor and Prince Yitada."

Feng Ziying's analysis is also in line with Wang Wenyan's view. The Great Zhou Dynasty has been in existence for a hundred years, and the unification has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. If a group of Jiangnan scholars dare to talk about crossing the river to rule, they are simply seeking death, but...

Wang Wenyan suddenly remembered something and raised his head to look at Feng Ziying.

Feng Ziying also knew that Wang Wenyan must have thought of it, and nodded: "Yes, a group of scholarly scholars alone cannot make a difference. It will take ten years for the scholars to rebel, but if there are some other careerists involved, even themselves It’s hard to say if these people are fanning the flames behind the scenes.”

Wang Wenyan's face turned pale. Of course he had thought about this, but subconsciously he didn't want to believe it, or thought it was impossible.

The Supreme Emperor is still there, and although Emperor Yonglong is in poor health, he is still in court, which means that there are no problems with basic operations and office work. Now the issue of control of the Beijing camp is gradually being solved. At this time, if Prince Yi Zhong wants to launch an attack, whether it is in There is no chance in terms of justice and strength. Isn't this just asking for death?

But if Prince Yi Zhong doesn't make an attack at this time, he will have no chance to come back. Is it possible to just watch Emperor Yonglong slowly suffocate him to death in the capital?

"My lord, you mean that Prince Yoshitaka may be among them... and he wants to take the opportunity to cause trouble?"

Feng Ziying shook her head and nodded, "It's hard to say, I think Prince Yi Zhong must be behind it, otherwise Jiangnan would not be turbulent all of a sudden, especially when the court's main energy is still dealing with the war in the southwest and the instability in the north. There are different opinions on how much damage and impact the Japanese raids brought to Nanzhi and Zhejiang. So far, no accurate figure has been given. They suddenly asked for millions of taels of silver to form a Jiang defense fleet and Jiangbei town, and even demanded that Jiangnan and Zhejiang be intercepted. The taxes paid by Huguang are simply draining money from the bottom of the cauldron for the imperial court, and the Six Ministries of Nanjing suddenly become far-sighted? Are Gu Tianjun and Tang Binyin so courageous?"

Wang Wenyan also nodded in agreement: "Although the Jiangnan scholars are stubborn in their own way, there are also many Northern scholars serving as officials in Jiangnan. Similarly, there are also many Jiangnan scholars serving as officials in the North. I'm afraid they won't agree with some people's opinions. It’s a perverse act, I prefer what you said about someone fanning the flames behind the scenes, but they may not dare to actually take that step, or it may be an excuse to bargain with the court, forcing the court to completely solve these remaining problems and reduce the burden on Jiangnan..."

"This is just an idealized assumption of ours. Wen Yan, you are from the south and I am from the north, but we are from the Zhou Dynasty. We can all distinguish the importance of this, but some people are easily blinded by selfish desires. , carried away to the mind, I am afraid we cannot underestimate the possibility that some people will go crazy once they are blinded by interests."

After this conversation with Wang Wenyan, Feng Ziying basically clarified the general situation in Jiangnan. Perhaps Wang Wenyan's guess was more likely, but he still believed in his intuition.

Without him, Prince Yi Zhong was much healthier than Emperor Yong Long. Prince Yi Zhong would not believe that Emperor Yong Long would let him go before he died, because Emperor Yong Long knew that if he died first, his sons would definitely not be able to defeat his eldest brother. Prince Yoshitaka, both in terms of moral prestige and influence of connections.

Hearing Feng Ziying speak so seriously, Wang Wenyan's heart sank. Feng Ziying rarely spoke in this tone, which often meant that he had a very certain judgment on this issue.

After adjusting his mentality, Wang Wenyan asked: "Sir, what do you think we should do now?"

"Ask Yaoqing to come back from Yongping Mansion and immediately go to Yangzhou and Jinling to restore your original connections and intelligence system there. My father-in-law has been the salt censor of the Huaihe River for so many years, so he should stay as much as possible. Want to download something? He has only been gone for two years." Feng Ziying took a deep breath.

 (End of this chapter)