Chapter 1887 Renzijuan’s people’s hearts are floating, and public opinion comes first

"Ming Qi Gong understands better. The work in Shuntian Mansion is not easy to do. If you do it too much, someone will always say sarcastic remarks, and there will inevitably be omissions, which will also attract criticism. If you don't do it or do it less, something will happen. We have to carry it again, it's just as sad, so we can only mind ourselves and do our own thing. If they want to say it, let them say it. As long as the princes in the court know what they think."

Feng Ziying's face was very calm, "I agree with your point of view. Everything in the court now revolves around one core thing, which is to recover Shandong as soon as possible. As long as Shandong is recovered, people's hearts can be stabilized, whether it is food prices, civil unrest, or grassland uprisings. No matter whether the Mongols or Jurchens are ready to move, these are not harmful, and people's hearts will calm down immediately. But to recover Shandong, the reorganization of the northern front army is the most urgent task..."

Huang Ruliang was still nodding slowly in front of him, but when he heard the words behind him, he immediately smiled bitterly, "Okay, okay, Ziying, I know what you want to say. I am sent to you as a lobbyist for Zhisheng (Sun Chengzong Yes? Of course I know the urgency of the formation of the Northern Line, but the establishment and reorganization requires money, materials and food. These cannot be conjured up with just one mouth. It has to be raised from all directions. Isn’t the Ministry of Household Affairs not supportive enough? Okay , don’t come here to hint or remind me, I will allocate 300,000 yuan of this money to the Ministry of War, and let it be used exclusively for the reorganization of the northern front army, how about it?"

"I would like to thank Duke Mingqi on behalf of Duke Kaiyang (Sun Chengzong). The key to the Shandong War is no longer my father's northwest army, but whether Duke Kaiyang's northern army can be quickly reorganized and whether it can move south quickly. The more time passes, the more important it is." If you delay, the battle will become more difficult, and Chen Jixian's attitude will also change..."

Feng Ziying endured it for a while, but finally brought up the subject of Chen Jixian.

Huang Ruliang should not have known this in the first place. Although he was Ye Xianggao's direct confidant, Ye Xianggao, as the chief assistant, must have known it. However, as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, there was no need to know these military secrets. However, Sun Chengzong organized the reorganized Northern Front. The army was too slow, and although the Ministry of Revenue gave support, it was far from enough, so Feng Ziying felt it was necessary to reveal some secrets to the other party to let them understand the key to victory.

 Dad’s plan should already be in progress, and with Huang Ruliang’s temperament, such things would not be leaked.

As expected, Huang Ruliang was stunned and said, "Ziying, what's there in Chen Jixian's place...?"

"Ming Qi Gong, I only know that the Ministry of War should have a plan related to Chen Jixian, but this requires the Northern Army to move south as soon as possible to cooperate. If my father's Northwest Army can quickly join forces with the Northern Army to open up the situation, it may be against Chen Jixian's side. It has an impact, and if done well, it may greatly speed up the court's victory in the southern expedition, and maybe the situation will become clear by the end of the year."

Feng Ziying carefully considered her words, but when Huang Ruliang heard it, it was like a shot in the arm. He quickly asked: "Can such a situation really exist?"

To be honest, with the twists and turns of the war, especially the disastrous defeat of Su Shengdu, Niu Jizong and Sun Shaozu stabilized the situation in Shandong, which hit the entire DPRK. Many officials who were originally confident were a little uneasy. , and some officials who were not optimistic at first felt that the sky was falling. Even ministers who still firmly believed that the court would win also felt that the war might be prolonged and the situation would become complicated. Maybe there might not be a victory in the middle of next year. result.

 Huang Ruliang didn't understand military affairs, and the defeat of the Shanxi Army also hit him hard. During this time, he was a little confused.

 He ​​even wondered whether the ministers in the cabinet were all pretending to be calm and calm on the surface, but in fact they were as full of doubts as himself.

Especially when he saw that prices in the city were boiling and people's sentiments were fluctuating, he also realized that once this situation continued, it was not impossible for the imperial court to fail.

This kind of worry has been lingering in my heart, but I can't express it to others.

 But when he heard Feng Ziying reveal this secret today, he immediately cheered up.

Didn’t Chen Jixian say that he had rebelled against the imperial court? It was originally a chess piece of the emperor, but was pulled over by Nanjing. Can it be pulled back now?

 But in such a situation that is unfavorable to the imperial court, how can a slippery old fox like Chen Jixian still be able to see clearly which direction the wind is blowing? Can he still turn to the court again?

But Huang Ruliang also knew that Feng Ziying never spoke lightly, and almost everything he said became reality, so this sentence aroused his mood.

"Ming Qi Gong, I can't give you any definite answer to this matter, but you have to believe that although our army has suffered losses, its total strength is still not comparable to that of the south. We can quickly reorganize seven or eight troops. There are ten thousand people in the northern army, but what about the south? If Sun Shaozu's Datong Army and Niu Jizong's Xuanfu Army are completely lost, what will they use to build up? Chen Jixian can even devour them!" Feng Ziying said with certainty.

 He also discovered some wavering in Huang Ruliang's heart, which made him aware of some dangers.

If even a big shot like Huang Ruliang had his confidence shaken by the defeat of the Shanxi Army, then I am afraid that there are more people in the court who already believe that it is difficult for the court to win this battle. They only see the difficulties of the court now. The hardship of the land, the fluctuation of the people's hearts, the fatigue of the army, and the power of the cutoff of water transportation are still increasing. Even the women in their own houses may be a little worried in their hearts. If they don't come up with some inspiring news, this kind of The shadow of failure will continue to grow.

"Ziying, can Shandong be captured quickly?" Huang Ruliang asked simply: "I know that Sun Chengzong is somewhat famous in the Ministry of War, but he has never really led troops. Su Shengdu is still in Shanxi after all. The town has worked hard for several years, but failed so miserably. Sun Chengzong has become the second Zhao Kuo. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the newly formed tens of thousands of people is even inferior to that of Shanxi Town. .”

"Kaiyang Gong is a man who knows the military. You may not know what happened after he went to Sichuan." Feng Ziying immediately cheered Sun Chengzong.

"The imperial court may not be aware of Duke Kaiyang's achievements in Sichuan. In Sichuan, he gradually trained the local guards from a vulnerable brigade to an army that could rival or even surpass Jingxiang Town. This is not something that ordinary people can do. That is to say, the imperial court hopes that he can come back to take charge of the overall situation. Otherwise, if he is allowed to take over as the commander-in-chief of Jingxiang Town and then integrate the Sichuan army he trained, it will not be a problem to defeat the Bozhou rebel army. Even if Wang Ziteng The Denglai Army will never have an easy time in Huguang. Now Fei Baigong is just getting a big advantage, but Fei Baigong also knows military skills, and can just use the Jingxiang Army and the Sichuan Army. I believe the war in Bozhou will be very fast. There will be a satisfactory result.”

Seeing that Feng Ziying was so sure, Huang Ru felt relieved, "If the imperial court grits its teeth and fully supports Zhisheng in forming the Northern Front Army, when will Ziying expect the situation in Shandong to turn around?"

Asking this kind of question also shows that Huang Ru really has nothing to worry about in his conscience, but he is the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, not the Minister of the Ministry of War. Feng Ziying knows that if he does not give the other party a clear and accurate message, he will feel uneasy.

"If it's quick, the offensive can be launched in June or July. My father also mentioned in the letter, but the battlefield situation is ever-changing, so there is no certainty. It is estimated that it should be clear before the end of the year." Feng Ziying left some room, "But in fact I don’t think the situation needs to be completely clear. With Chen Jixian’s cunning and cunning, he can tell which direction the wind is blowing and he will take action.”

"Is Chen Jixian making any moves?" Huang Ruliang pondered: "Listen to the tune but not the announcement?"

"Haha, doesn't he always listen to the tune rather than the announcement? And, does he listen to the tune over there? If you want to earn credit in the court, capture Huai'an, or even march into Yangzhou, isn't it an exaggeration?" Feng Ziying sneered.

Huang Ruliang took a breath, "How can Chen Jixian be so bold?"

"Huh, then he will wait until the imperial army sweeps across Shandong and solve him as well." Feng Ziying was full of confidence, "My father is sure that as long as the situation in Shandong changes, Chen Jixian will definitely not be able to sit still. This old cunning man will definitely fight in the end. If you want fame and wealth, otherwise the Chen family will be destroyed as well."

"Okay!" Huang Ruliang gritted his teeth: "Of the 600,000 taels of silver, only 100,000 taels will be reserved by the Ministry of Household Affairs for emergencies, and the rest will be allocated to the Ministry of War. I hope Zhisheng can form the northern front army as soon as possible and open up the situation with your father. The court is now I am in great need of good news. To be honest with you Ziying, even I am a little restless now. Not a single piece of good news has come out all day long. People are feeling panicked, and there are all kinds of rumors among the people..."

He didn't expect Huang Ruliang to come like this. Of course it was an unexpected surprise, but Huang Ruliang's next words made him even more wary. Maybe the court really needed some more news to stimulate people's hearts. Otherwise, if it continues to be depressed and depressed like this, maybe Something will happen to my son one day.

 After returning to the mansion, Feng Ziying immediately summoned Cao Yu and assigned tasks.

On the one hand, we should appropriately exaggerate the transportation capacity of the ports and terminals in Yuguan and Dagu. We should boast that there is an endless stream of grain ships coming from the south and the backlog of grain at the port terminals is increasing day by day. We hope that the local government will use more civilian workers to transfer and transport the backlog of grain at the ports. of food.

This is actually a hint in the nature of a soft article, implying that the rise in food prices is due to the backlog at the port terminal, giving people the feeling that food will be shipped to Beijing soon.

On the other hand, it sends a message that Huguang grain is facing a bumper harvest, the drought in Henan has eased, a large amount of Huguang grain has flowed into Henan, and Henan grain prices have fallen.

This is actually a public opinion war. The flow of grain from Huguang to Henan does not have much impact on grain prices in Beijing and Zhongnan. However, this is a psychological trend. The drop in grain prices in Henan will definitely be transmitted to Beizhi. It seems that grain prices in Beijing It is unlikely to rise too high.

If you add that North Korea is also having a good harvest this year, and the court intends to import grain from North Korea, then the news will be even more significant.

 (End of this chapter)