The best way is to be patient without retreating, be aggressive without being arrogant, and do your own thing with peace of mind, especially focusing on your own weaknesses and shortcomings, and try your best to make up for them.

Feng Ziying knew very well that if she really wanted to achieve the level of Cao Cao and Sima Yi, she still had a lot of work to do. In the military, she had to continue to lay a solid foundation and ensure that everything was foolproof. As for the civil servants in the DPRK and the local areas, she had to start from now on. Get started.

If you surround yourself with allies, or who can agree with many of your views and ideas, and to take a step back, they can be used for yourself, regardless of why they come. If you sort through the collaborators in these circles, you can find that they are not actually No, it's just that I was limited by my identity as a Northern scholar, and often didn't deliberately make friends.

Looking at the other members of the cabinet, Gu Bingqian did a relatively poor job, but there were still scholars from Jiangnan, especially those from South Zhili, and some scholars who tended to have an imperialist mentality gathered around him.

 As for Guan Yingzhen, not to mention the Huguang brothers, the entire Huguang scholars stood firmly behind him.

Huang Ruliang accepted almost all of Ye Xianggao's connections and some of the connections left by Fang Congzhe. Qiao Yingjia was a little worse, but he basically integrated the support of scholars from Shanxi and was currently working in Beijing to camp Beizhili and scholars from Shaanxi and Henan. groups of people.

On the other hand, my own strategy in this regard is a bit vague. I mainly focus on those who studied in the Yonglong 5th year of my Qingtan Academy. At the same time, I also attracted a group of officials who have been intertwined in my official career over these years. .

 But generally speaking, the level is still a little low, the closeness of connections is still a little bit worse, and a clearer main line or goal of struggle has not been established.

 A group without a goal or a clear political philosophy is narrow-minded or soulless. It is difficult to truly unite the core circle and will not have strong combat effectiveness.

If you really want to make a difference in the future, then on the one hand, you need to clarify your goals, determine your concepts, and strengthen the inner concepts of people who already have some awareness in this regard. At the same time, you need to consciously continue to instill and promote to groups who are willing to move closer to you. These concepts allow them to gradually understand and accept them, and also allow them to gradually integrate into the group and become one of them.

Of course, there must be a selection mechanism, and not everyone can be chosen and enter.

On the one hand, it is to cultivate members who already have this awareness to make them grow rapidly; on the other hand, it is to promote, guide and instill among those officials who already have a certain career foundation, but have the possibility of accepting these ideas, so that they can grow quickly. He becomes a member of the middle.

This era is different from the pre-Song Dynasty and the late Han Dynasty. Rough management can no longer adapt to the needs of society in this era.

This requires a large number of elite scholar-officials to manage, and the management is becoming increasingly refined. It is not possible for a group of warriors to support such a large empire.

 Because of understanding this, Feng Ziying would not be so hasty in fantasizing about relying solely on martial arts to govern the country.

My biggest task in the future is to cultivate and gather a group of civil servants who share the same goals or interests, and form a group of scholars and civil servants of my own. Moreover, these people can also gain a foothold at different levels. Once I raise my voice, they will Be able to follow it and support the daily governance structure of the entire empire from all levels.

This task is not easy. Even though I have consciously started to make some preparations before, I am still far away from my goal.

Feng Ziying silently calculated that there are only a few people who can stand firmly by her side now.

For example, Lian Guoshi, Zheng Chongjian and Fang Youdu among the classmates are considered to have the closest relationship and have a certain foundation. However, to be honest, Zheng Chongjian and Fang Youdu are still a little weaker and their levels are slightly lower. Only Lian Guoshi is comparable. It's usable.

Yang Sichang's rank is not low anymore. After several years of hard work in Liaodong, he has become a fourth-rank doctor in the Ministry of War, but his close relationship is far less than that of practicing state affairs.

Classmates like Fan Jingwen, He Fengsheng, Wu Yan, Wang Yingxiong, and Xue Wenzhou all have good relationships with each other, but again, the level is too low, and almost all are officials below the fifth rank. If they want to enter the center of the imperial court, they are still a little short of ready. Without three to five years of accumulation, it would be impossible.

For people like Sun Chuanting, Xu Qixun, and Jia Huan, there is no problem in their closeness, but they have just entered the official career and may not be of great use until ten years later.

 There are also some people who are slightly related, but the closeness and level are still a little low, such as Xu Xie, Song Shixiang, Chen Qiyu, Fu Zonglong, Ma Shiying, etc., and they still need to spend a lot of effort to gather and guide.

Of course, Feng Ziying also knew that she could not just limit herself to her classmates, relatives, and friends. She could also use some of the connections she had established in the past, including the friendships she had forged in her previous jobs, as well as her fellow villagers.

For example, Geng Ruqi, who is now the prefect of Yan'an Prefecture, is a native of his own country, has a similar temperament, and has the same views. Feng Ziying also plans to recommend him this time.

For example, Pan Ruzhen, a subordinate who has been closely following him, has now served as the Shaanxi Prosecution and Prosecution Commission. He is considered to be the highest status in his party. He is actually a third-level official, although it is only a local third-level official, and there are a group of Shaanxi In this way, Xu Junyang, Wu Degui, Yuan Wanquan and others can all be considered.

There are also characters like Fu Shi who have always been loyal, and they are bound to be promoted this time.

Even for someone like Jia Yucun, who has both sides, Feng Ziying felt that he might as well use him first to build up his momentum, and if he couldn't get along in the future, he could slowly squeeze him out.

After counting it all, it seems that there are quite a few people that I can use, or that I can relate to, but there are only a few who can really play a core and key role.

Feng Ziying silently calculated that there may be only three people who can be brought into the center immediately to play a role. One is Pan Ruzhen. After all, he is already a third-level official. Even if it is a local operation, he may not be able to return to a good position.

There is also the matter of practicing state affairs. After all, the Lian family is a prominent scholar family in Henan, and it has the title of No. 1 Scholar in the fifth year of Yonglong and the status of the Hanlin Academy. If the prefect of Xi'an is transferred to Beijing, there will be a good arrangement. Basically, it is not It will be affected by people like Pan Ruzhen who returned to Beijing and downgraded the level of use.

Geng Ruqi is not bad either. He left a deep impression on the court when he served as the magistrate of Chongqing Prefecture when pacifying the Bozhou Rebellion. He also assumed the important role of magistrate of Yan'an Prefecture. The court should also consider his merits.

These three are the few people Feng Ziying can consider recruiting to Beijing as his helpers now. The others, such as Fan Jingwen, He Fengsheng, and Fang Youdu, are not reliable yet. Maybe in three to five years, we will see if there is a chance to play a role.

  ************

Feng Ziying remembered that this was the third time she came to Guan Yingzhen's house, and it was also the first time she came to Guan Yingzhen's house after joining the cabinet.

 Guan Yingzhen was the second assistant in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites.

In the new cabinet, Guan Yingzhen is considered to be the biggest beneficiary. As the second assistant and the leader of Huguang scholars, he and Huang Ruliang reached a compromise. He was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites, while Huang Ruliang was in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs and Business. department.

Of course the biggest “victim” should be Gu Bingqian.

The No. 2 and No. 3 figures in the cabinet divide personnel power and financial power. For the chief assistant, if it is a chief assistant like Ye Xianggao or Qi Yongtai, it does not matter to them what you are in charge of. As the chief assistant, he Naturally, he is the number one person. Whether you are a secondary assistant or a group assistant, it will be difficult for him to challenge him.

  However, as a first assistant with a weak foundation and a mediocre relationship with other ministers, the second assistants and group assistants are relatively strong, which is a bit embarrassing.

 So even if the communication with Gu Bingqian is completed, there will be no problem with Cui Jingrong, the Minister of Civil Affairs, but in order for Pan Ruzhen, Lian Guoshi and Geng Ruqi to enter the capital, they still need to obtain the support of Guan Yingzhen.

“It’s rare, Ziying.” Guan Yingzhen teased his disciple, “Logically speaking, you shouldn’t even come to my place.”

"Master, why should you care about the gossips of outsiders?" Feng Ziying held up the tea cup nonchalantly, stirred up the foam with the lid of the tea cup, and said with a smile: "Don't teachers and students also be allowed to communicate with each other? Friendships can no longer be exchanged? What is pure will become pure by itself, and what is turbid will become turbid by itself."

 Cabinet ministers generally do not visit each other. This is a well-established rule, with the exception of course when going to the chief minister.

Since it is a convention, there is no explicit prohibition. It is only said that under normal circumstances it is not advisable to interact frequently to avoid forming parties for personal gain.

But this is actually an excuse to cover up one's ears. If he really wanted to make acquaintance in private, how could he visit him so openly and openly.

“Haha, Ziying, you are becoming more confident now.” Guan Yingzhen laughed.

"Originally, I am a junior among the cabinet ministers. It is natural for me to visit you and communicate with you. Why should I stick to such small details? On the contrary, I have fallen into the trap." Feng Ziying was confident.

Guan Yingzhen also felt that Feng Ziying seemed not to be affected at all by the setback in the last court meeting, and continued to do what he thought he should do with great enthusiasm. This made Guan Yingzhen breathe a sigh of relief.

 He knew very well that he could no longer look at this disciple with the old eyes.

Even myself, many times, I still need this disciple to communicate with Gu Bingqian, Qiao Yingjia and others.

In contrast, Feng Ziying's status as a junior has now become an advantage in the cabinet, a resource that allows her to communicate among several cabinet ministers without much scruples.

 He ​​and Huang Ruliang have become a relatively stable balance. Even if they are not allies, they are still relatively stable. However, the relationship with Gu Bingqian and Qiao Yingjia is not so harmonious. This requires someone to coordinate and ease. (End of chapter)