Chapter 2541 Exclusion and marginalization of Guizi volume

 The atmosphere in Wenyuan Pavilion was depressing.

In addition to the six cabinet ministers, Zhang Huaichang, the Minister of War, Liu Yisui, the Minister of Punishment, Huang Ruliang, the Minister of Hubu, and Lu Song, the commander of Long Jinwei, were also present.

Gu Bingqian has not yet come back, Feng Ziying has only gone as far as Xuzhou and cannot go south. Shandong, Beizhi, and even Henan are in chaos, but the situation in Shanxi is still bad.

The optimistic atmosphere originally brought about after the "Three Towns in Jiangnan" was solved has disappeared.

Everyone used to think that although Liaodong lost Anle Prefecture the year before last, it severely damaged the Jianzhou Jurchens, making it impossible for the Jianzhou Jurchens to launch a decent offensive against Liaodong for two or three years. Last year, the Jiangnan issue was solved. Although the situation in Shanxi is not satisfactory, But it is always moving in a good direction, so you can breathe a sigh of relief this year.

However, the weather in Shandong and Beizhi is not good, and this year they suffered from spring drought and subsequent drought. Shanxi and Shaanxi are better, but no matter what, they are better than the previous two years. Who would have thought that the White Lotus Sect would pop up again.

Early assessments concluded that although Shandong and Beizhili had relatively severe droughts, they were far different from the droughts in Shaanxi in the past two thousand years, and the conditions in Shandong and Beizhili were also better than those in Shaanxi, so everyone thought it might be possible. There are some minor turbulences, but nothing major.

As for the White Lotus Sect, the situation reported from the Ministry of Punishment is slightly different from the news from Long Jinwei. It is believed that some situations may occur, but it will not affect the overall situation.

 The cabinet approved this opinion.

But it had only been a short time, less than two months, before trouble broke out, and it was a big mess once it broke out.

This made Ye Xianggao feel very bad, and his opinion of Liu Yishen suddenly became very bad.

"The situation is very bad. The White Lotus Rebellion in the three southern prefectures of Northern Zhili is becoming more and more violent, especially in Qinghe, Weixian, Quzhou, Guangping, Daming, Nanle, Qingfeng, and Kaizhou. It is adjacent to Shandong and is mutually exclusive with Shandong..."

"Judging from the information obtained so far, the rebellion in Shandong is the most violent in southern Yanzhou, and it is gradually extending to the north, including Liaocheng of Dongchang Prefecture in the north, Pingyin and Dong'a in northern Yanzhou, and Changqing and Feicheng in Jinan. Although They were the first to start an uprising, but their momentum was not as strong as the counties in the south of Yanzhou..."

“However, once the rebellion in Guangping and Daming Prefectures gains momentum, it is estimated that Dongchang Prefecture will be in danger, and may even spread to the entire Jinan Prefecture, so it must be resolved as soon as possible..."

Ye Xianggao couldn't help it anymore: "How did the Ministry of War arrange such a situation?"

"Considering that rebellions have also appeared in Shuntian Prefecture, Zhending, Baoding, and Hejian Prefectures, and the momentum is also spreading, the Ministry of War considers that Denglai Town will quickly advance westward, first control the situation in Dongchang Prefecture, and then move westward and southward. To advance in one direction, the northern part of Beizhili may need to mobilize the troops of Ji Town and Xuanfu Town, because the Beijing Camp is now almost paralyzed. In order to prevent an accident in the middle of Beijing, the Northwest Army should let it go to Beijing first to replenish the Beijing Camp... '

Zhang Huaichang paused, "But all this takes time. Coming from Denglai Town from Dengzhou, it will take at least the 15th to 20th to reach the front line of Dongchang Prefecture. The situation here in Ji Town and Xuanfu is even worse." , we must first mobilize and replenish food and grass before heading south. It is expected that it will take at least twenty days to reach the south of Shuntian Mansion and the north of Zhending,..."

Ye Xianggao said impatiently: "So in these twenty days, we can only watch the White Lotus gang wreaking havoc everywhere?"

Zhang Huaichang remained silent, but Li Sancai took up the topic: "There are still some local guards and troops, but it is difficult for them to resist these White Lotus rebels, especially since many local Minzhuangs are actually under the control of the White Lotus Sect." It penetrated.”

Ye Xianggao sneered, "Then what are the people in these places doing? What are the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment and the Long Jinwei doing? I remember that Feng Ziying has been mentioning the White Lotus Sect for a long time, at least two or three years ago. , and more than that, it should be that he started fighting with the White Lotus Sect when he was still in Yongping Mansion. At that time, everyone still thought he was alarmist and sensationalizing. Now it seems that his view is correct, and we here, It’s all careless.”

Qi Yongtai frowned, "Qing Qing, it's useless to talk about this now. We may have to find a countermeasure. We can't just sit and wait like this. Does the Ministry of War have any other ideas?"

Zhang Huaichang hesitated for a moment, "Ziying detained the 10,000 Northwest Army troops who were originally going to ship to Dongjiang Town in southern Liaoning Province in Xuzhou. They fought several battles in Xuzhou and they fought well. They basically stabilized the situation in Xuzhou. However, firstly, the troops were still insufficient, and secondly, there was no general to lead the troops, so he suggested that Liu Baichuan, who was on his way to Huguang, come back to lead the remaining troops of the Northwest Army, and then move the entire Jingxiang Town to Xuzhou. Change it to Jiangbei Town, and carry out a pincer attack from south to north. At the same time, we must detach a force to flank the Daiming and Guangping to help prevent the situation in the south of Beizhili from getting out of control..."

This suggestion immediately sparked discussion in the hall.

"Liu Baichuan returns to the army, then who will take charge of the overall situation?" Tang Binyin said hesitantly: "Can Feng Ziying be allowed to take command again, and the urgent needs can be solved first. Jiangnan can let Liuji take over for a while. …”

This was the first time Tang Binyin spoke on a major issue at a cabinet meeting. Even though he knew that his words were unlikely to be taken seriously, he still considered the issue seriously.

 Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe both frowned.

Feng Ziying is going to replace Gu Bingqian in Jiangnan. This is a major decision made by the imperial court, and Gu Bingqian has been waiting for it for a long time.

At this time, Feng Ziying is asked to handle Shandong's military affairs again. This is not something that can be done in a day or two. It is hard to say whether it can be solved in half a year. Gu Bingqian is afraid that he will really fall out.

More importantly, Feng Ziying has to be the fire brigade for all matters, no matter how big or small. It seems that there is no one available in the court and he can only rely on him. This is not good for the prestige of the court.

 Ye Fang, Li, three people, and even Qi Yongtai did not agree with this situation.

Yuan Keli's performance in Shanxi has caused Ye Fangli and others to lose confidence. The situation has not improved for a long time, and he has become enemies with Chai Guozhu and Yang Yuan.

Both Chai and Yang also wrote to the court criticizing Yuan Keli for his bookishness, self-will, and disregard for reality. Although the Zhou Dynasty relied on culture to control military affairs, the court still had to carefully consider the criticism of the two generals.

 The generals were at odds with each other, and military strategists were in taboo. Although Chai Guozhu and Yang Yuan were about to change their positions, the court did not dare to wait any longer.

Sun Chengzong has decided to replace Yuan Keli in handling Shanxi military affairs. Although this is not suitable, he can't care about it.

Although the court has not determined Yuan Keli's whereabouts, there is a high probability that there will be no good arrangements, which even Feng Ziying did not expect.

 Just like this, it would be a bit tricky for Sun Chengzong to deal with the situation in Shanxi, Shandong, and even Beizhili.

There were only a few civil servants in the imperial court who knew the army. I thought Yuan Keli was okay at first, but now it seems that it is a bit too much.

Who to choose?

"Ziying is not suitable. Jiangnan is more important. Liuji must come back. Jiangnan needs someone who can control him. Ziying is the most suitable." Ye Xianggao Qiankun said arbitrarily: "Isn't Feibai back? Let Feibai be responsible for Shandong. side."

“But here at Beizhi...” Tang Binyin was a little disappointed.

The last thing he wanted to see was Gu Bingqian coming back. It was best to keep Gu Bingqian stuck in Nanjing. This way, he and Miao Changqi would have the opportunity to gradually erode Gu Bingqian's foundation.

Ye Xianggao has been the chief assistant for eleven years. Fang Congzhe does not have enough prestige. Although there is no change in the general trend, Qi Yongtai's rise to power is very strong. Especially the scholars in the North are very vocal. The chief assistant cannot always be left to Jiangnan scholars. If Qi Yongtai really wants to replace Ye Xianggao as the first assistant, he can look for Fang Congzhe's second assistant position.

But the situation is different when Gu Bingqian comes back. This guy is a bendable man. As long as he can be an official, he can do anything. He will definitely do whatever it takes to get this secondary position, and his foundation in the court is stronger than his own.

It’s a pity that I stayed in seclusion for too long in the past few years and wasted a few years.

“Here in Beizhi, Huaichang, who do you think will be responsible?” Ye Xianggao asked.

“If Ziying can’t come back, then she can fix her age.” Zhang Huaichang had no choice.

Either Yang He or Chai Ke, but these two have only led troops and barely know military affairs. But if they can really lead an army in war, they may not be as good as Yuan Keli.

 Are you from Huguang again? Ye Xianggao frowned, "Daofu, what do you think?"

“Huaichang, I think it’s okay to come here. He has been in the Ministry of War for many years and knows the soldiers well. He has a lot of experience in the Metropolitan Procuratorate and has a lot of things to do...”

Dalai is the name of Yuan Yingtai, a native of Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province. Li Sancai recommended him as a native of the same country, and Yuan Yingtai was also from the Ministry of War, so he should know the army. He is now the prefect of Hejian.

Ye Xianggao looked at Qi Yongtai, "Chengfeng, I think Daofu's suggestion is feasible. Dalai has been in the Ministry of War for many years and is familiar with Zhisheng and the others. He is responsible for the Beizhi side and can also form a tacit understanding with the Shanxi side. …”

Qi Yongtai was not familiar with Yuan Yingtai, but he also knew that Yang He was actually not very proficient in military affairs. When Ye Xianggao asked, he could only nod: "Dalai has been in the Ministry of War for many years, so he should be able to shoulder this responsibility, but Like Li Qing, he has never led an army before and needs to be careful."

"That's it. Emergency measures are used to deal with emergencies. I think Feng Ziying's suggestion can be adopted. Jiangbei Town will be established with the strength of the fourth battalion of the Northwest Army. The original Jingxiang Town will be moved to the town and merged with Jiangbei Town. It will be stationed in Xuzhou and Liu Baichuan will be the general manager. Feibai immediately rushed to Jinan to unify the military affairs of Shandong and Xuzhou. Dalai was appointed as the censor of Youqiandu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and took charge of Baoding. He transferred the troops of Jizhen and Xuanfu towns to his command. The specific number of troops was determined by the War Department of Huaichang. to make sure."

Ye Xianggao no longer hesitated and made a decision quickly. The night was long and there were many dreams. If it continued, the situation would become even more uncontrollable.

 (End of this chapter)