Chapter 2397 Gui Zi Juan lays the foundation for the final success

After Niu Jizong received the letter sent by Wang Ziteng, he read it, thought about it for a long time, and finally burned it.

Before this, he had received letters from father and son Feng Tang and Feng Ziying persuading them to surrender, but he ignored them.

However, some hidden meanings in Wang Ziteng's letter made him realize something.

 He needs to make a judgment.

The Northwest Army did not have much advantage over his Xuanfu Army and Sun Shaozu's Datong Army.

From Fengyang to Luzhou, the two sides fought for a long time. Although the Northwest Army was advancing steadily, we still maintained the remaining power to repel the opponent's attack at any time.

On the other hand, Cao Wenzhao and You Shiwei attacked from the east and put themselves in a more difficult situation.

Either they can only retreat to Luzhou, look for an opportunity to cross the river, and join Wang Ziteng's Denglai army, or they have to make a desperate move to repel You Shiwei and Cao Wenzhao's troops.

 But now that Wang Ziteng has given up, he has pushed himself into a desperate situation.

It is not difficult to defeat You Shiwei and Cao Wenzhao, but will the Northwest Army behind them sit back and watch?

Certainly not.

Of course, he is not the kind of stubborn person. He serves Prince Yi Zhong because he believes that the other party can bring more benefits to him. But now it seems that Tang Mi and others have got what they want, and even Zhu Guozhen and Gu Tianjun can Some gains have been made, but what about the so-called three towns in Jiangnan?

 He did not believe that Prince Yoshitaka, Tommie and others would not be aware of it, or in other words, the interests of his group had been betrayed by them.

No one wants to see the three Jiangnan towns that represent Wu Xun’s interests unite and become independent, including the emperor and civil servants.

 So it is reasonable to fall to this point. People like me still think too well.

However, Wang Ziteng’s judgment on Feng Ziying is intriguing. Will he really get to that point in the future?

 Or maybe people like yourself can help take this step?

 Then you need to keep it useful.

After thinking for a long time, Niu Jizong finally sighed and stood up.

There is another question, what should Sun Shaozu do?

 He and Wang Ziteng may be able to hand over military power in exchange for a free post, but Sun Shaozu may not be so lucky.

  It would be difficult for the court to spare him due to his various experiences in Datong Town, and his performance in Shandong also aroused great anger among the Shandong gentry. Even if he was willing to hand over military power, could the court spare him?

As long as you can save your life, it will be considered merciful by the imperial court.

However, Niu Jizong felt that he should help Sun Shaozu. After all, he was also on the same side at the beginning. In addition, he also wanted to write to Prince Yizhong to help make peace, although he was not sure how many people were listening to the new emperor's words.

 “Comer.”

 The confidants have been waiting outside the door and come in immediately.

 “Go and invite Sun Shaozu to come.”

Niu Jizong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Also, contact the northwest army on the other side. I want to surrender..."

 “Sir?!” The confidant was shocked and couldn’t believe it.

Niu Jizong was expressionless, "I have made up my mind. No need to say more. It's time to talk to the other party about the follow-up matters."

　　************

Three reports a day almost shook the entire court to the point where the Golden Palace trembled.

Of course, this is not bad news, but good news, but it comes so fast that people are a little overwhelmed and a little unbelievable.

 September 14, Yangzhou urgently reported that the Denglai Navy, together with the Denglai Army and the Liaodong Army, captured Yangzhou and disarmed Huaiyang Town. Chen Jixian was defeated and fled, and his whereabouts are missing.

On September 16th, Jinling was restored. On the same day, Sun Chengzong and You Shigong led the Jizhen army to occupy Suqian, and the Suqian tribe in Huaiyang town surrendered.

When the first army announced the time, the cabinet suppressed it, but when the second round of the two armies reported, the cabinet could not suppress it. And this day was the day when the new emperor ascended the throne, so after the succession ceremony of Emperor Wan Tong, the cabinet Report the previous cabinet decisions to Emperor Wan Tong.

Emperor Wan Tong smashed his most beloved purple gold incense burner with seven orifices on the spot and walked away.

However, after repeated requests from the cabinet, Emperor Wan Tong had to return to the court. The cabinet then reported the causes and consequences one by one, indicating that the court would not tolerate the emergence of vassal towns that were independent of the court similar to those in the late Tang Dynasty, and the three towns in the south of the Yangtze River already had This tendency must be eliminated.

After the first decree was issued, both Tang Binyin and Miao Changqi entered the cabinet and became cabinet ministers. Therefore, the cabinet also had a fierce quarrel on this issue, but in the end they approved the previous cabinet's plan and never opened the cabinet in Jiangnan. There is no exception to the precedent of setting up military towns. Even Jingxiang Town in Huguang will be abolished in the future.

 September 19, the remaining troops from Huaiyang Town in Suzhou surrendered.

On September 23, Wang Ziteng handed over the command of the Denglai Army in Jiujiang and Luzhou to Feng Keng, the right minister of the Ministry of War, in the name of Denglai Town Commander-in-Chief. He resigned and retired. Feng Keng temporarily appointed the new Denglai Town Deputy Commander-in-Chief to congratulate him. Renlong temporarily takes command of all the troops in Laodenglai Town, waiting for reorganization.

On September 25, Niu Jizong and Sun Shaozu announced the transfer of command of the Xuanfu Army and Datong Army to the Northwest Army. This man retired, and Liu Dongyang and Liu Baichuan of the Northwest Army temporarily took over the command of the Xuanfu Army and Datong Army.

Feng Ziying returned to Jinling from Wujiang Town and waited for Sun Chengzong to come from Yangzhou to discuss how to stabilize the entire situation in Jiangnan.

Although the four armies of Xuanfu, Denglai, Datong and Huaiyang are already under control, and Wang Ziteng, Niu Jizong, Sun Shaozu and others have expressed their obedience to the court's arrangements, this does not mean that everything will be fine.

This is an army of more than 100,000 and close to 200,000 people, distributed in Yangzhou, Suzhou, Jiujiang, Fengyang, Luzhou, Anqing and other prefectures. As long as someone among them incites trouble, a big chaos may occur.

For the imperial court, taking over the military control of the three towns in Jiangnan was only the first step. Preventing these military towns from taking advantage of the chaos to cause trouble and affecting Jiangnan was the most important. This was why the imperial court had been reluctant to use force to easily solve Jiangnan. Main reason.

 A ruined Jiangnan will take several years to recover. This is unacceptable to the court, so it would rather make some compromises in certain aspects.

But sweeping across the Yangtze River with overwhelming force like now, quickly banning the three towns in Jiangnan, regaining the initiative, and avoiding the interference of the "Three Jiangnan Towns" in the imperial government's governance in Jiangnan in the future is undoubtedly what the imperial court is most happy to see, but The prerequisite is to ensure that this army of more than 100,000 people cannot collapse and turn into a chaos.

For now, the Northwest Army plus the Jizhen Army, Liaodong Army and Xindenglai Army going south are only about the same strength as the "Three Jiangnan Towns". Once an incident occurs, even if it can be suppressed in time, it will bring The turmoil and losses are also unbearable.

In addition to appeasing and stabilizing these armies, appeasing the southern Zhili, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian regions is also a top priority.

Especially the so-called core eight prefectures such as Jinling, Jiaxing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Changzhou, Huzhou, Zhenjiang, and Songjiang, plus Yangzhou, Huai'an, Ningbo, etc. Although they do not belong to the core eight prefectures, their status is no less inferior to these eight core prefectures. In the prefectures of Nanjing, in the past few years, basically the prefects and tongzhi were adjusted by the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Under such circumstances, the imperial court forcibly dissolved the "Three Jiangnan Towns" in this way. So now, does the imperial court still recognize the appointment of magistrates in these prefectures?

Most of these officials are also Jiangnan scholars, and most of them have obtained the qualifications of Jinshi candidates. They have been appointed by the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs and have been in office for two or three years. When such a situation suddenly arises, no one knows what to do.

The imperial court had discussed it with Tang Mi, Zhu Gu and others before, but no consensus was reached. They could only wait until the new emperor ascended the throne to discuss it again. However, they did not expect that the Ministry of War would send troops to Jiangnan in this way, which inevitably made many people think about it. .

Many officials who originally served in these places but abandoned their posts because of the confrontation between the north and the south are now also asking the officials to be relieved of the appointments of the puppet dynasty and to have their own officials reinstated. This also makes the officials of the imperial court high-ranking officials. Under a lot of pressure.

Such calls and pressure will definitely be transmitted to Jiangnan, and it will naturally cause officials on Jiangnan to feel tremendous pressure.

"It depends on the court's attitude towards the Nanjing Six Ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate." Jia Yucun said with a spring breeze on his face, he raised his wine glass gracefully, "Come on, Ziying, try this authentic Shaoxing Nuerhong, 20 years old, with a few extra It’s rare to have such nourishing medicine infiltrated into it. I know you like this kind of warm and mellow wine. Give it a try..."

 Compared with the uneasiness among officials from other governments, Jia Yucun was very excited.

I was originally an official appointed by the imperial court. Although I took this position after being recommended and promoted by Wang Ziteng at that time, after all, that was before Wang Ziteng showed his rebellion.

Moreover, he later got involved with the imperial court, and he stood firm at the last moment. It can be said that he has contributed to the imperial court. Even if he wants to change his position, it is still a promotion.

 Especially for the husband-in-law of his former student, this line is even more secure.

 After experiencing the changes in Jiangnan, I dare not say that this person will be promoted after returning. After all, he is too young, but at least the court will give him another credit.

 The credit for solving the imperial court's biggest hidden danger without a single blow. If it had been someone else, he would have been upgraded to at least three levels in a row. But for him, I'm afraid he would have to do something else.

"Well, of course I have to accept Brother Yucun's wishes." Feng Ziying also smiled and toasted, "Brother Yucun has made great achievements this time, and I have already reported it to the court. The court will certainly reward him. Please wait patiently, brother Yucun. "

  In any case, this person finally expressed his attitude at the last moment. Of course, this speculation was on the right track for him, and he should take the credit.

It’s not like Feng Ziying will lose the other party’s contribution, and for this kind of character, as long as you show yourself to be strong enough, he will definitely stand by your side without hesitation.

Hearing what Feng Ziying said, Jia Yucun was even more overjoyed.

Looking forward to these words, he has been the prefect of Jinling Mansion for seven years, and it is time for him to be promoted. Now with this merit, Zuo Qian is afraid that he will be lowered from the third rank, and it is time for him to step into the third rank. It's time.

 (End of this chapter)