Number of People

Chapter 807: The tiger lying on the deserted hill is

Chapter 807 Ji Zijuan The tiger is lying on the barren hill with his hands idle.

Feng Ziying had already made up her mind when she learned that her destination might be Yongping or one of the three prefectures of Hejian and Baoding.

Baoding undoubtedly seems to have the best conditions. It is the largest palace in the entire North Zhili region, second only to Shuntian and Zhending. It has a large number of people and an extremely important geographical location. It can be called a forbidden area for the confidants of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It is also very far from the capital. Qingyuan, where the government is located, is the closest to the capital city.

Hejian Prefecture is not bad either. Cangzhou is not only the location of the Changlu Salt Factory, but also the location of the Changlu Salt Transportation Department. It is one of the richest places in the North.

The worst is probably Yongping Prefecture. Not only is it located in the northeast corner of Beizhili, it is small in area, with only six prefectures and counties. In addition, there are Shanhaiwei and Funingwei that belong to Ji Town in the north, and Kaiping Zhongwei in the west. , Ji Town’s headquarters is also located in Santun Camp in the northwest corner.

 Coming out of Qi Yongtai's mansion, Feng Ziying rode back to his own house.

The Tongzhi of Yongping Prefecture became an official in old age, while the Tongzhi of Baoding Prefecture was promoted to the right counselor of the Chief Envoy of Shandong Province, and the Tongzhi of Hejian Prefecture was taken down by the Metropolitan Procuratorate for corruption.

The vacancies of the co-presidents in the three prefectures of Northern Zhili were not at the same time. The appointment of the co-president of Yongping Prefecture to the official position was done at the beginning of last year. The promotion of the co-president of Baoding Prefecture to the position of Chief Envoy of Shandong Province was still in the process of going through the procedures of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. What happened to the governor of Hejian Prefecture happened at the end of last year.

Qi Yongtai summoned Feng Ziying to his house specifically to discuss this matter with him, and suggested that he go to Baoding Prefecture as a co-prefect, because Xu Shojian, the prefect of Baoding, was from Huangzhou Prefecture, Huguang, and a fellow town official of Yingzhen. He is one subject later than Guan Yingzhen and is closely related to Guan Yingzhen.

 But Feng Ziying did not want to go to Baoding.

Although Baoding was good, Xu Shojian was still in his prime, full of energy and strong style. Not only did he belong to the same hometown as the official Ying Zhenyi, but he also had a very close relationship with the chief assistant Ye Xianggao. He went to Baoding to be his assistant. You will be squeezed to death, with no room for improvement.

The situation of Yan Chongnian, the prefect of Hejian Prefecture, was similar. He was also a second-class Jinshi, even one class earlier than Xu Shojian. He was a native of Yanzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. He had a very close relationship with Fang Congzhe, the second assistant, and he was also on the rise in his official career. Officials, if you look at the fact that your previous colleague ended up in jail because he failed to maintain a good relationship with Yan Chongnian, you will know that this person is not a good person.

If you go to Hejian by yourself and keep in step with Yan Chongnian, you will definitely be more dissatisfied by the northern scholars who already have some opinions about you. If you go against Yan Chongnian, not to mention whether you will be suppressed by the other party, there will be a real conflict. It is equally detrimental to one's future development.

Although he has the support of Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia, Yan Chongnian also has the support of Fang Congzhe. Even though he will not end up in the same situation as his predecessor, Feng Ziying is not willing to see both sides lose. And if the reputation is bad, no matter where he goes in the future If you go there, it will arouse the vigilance and hostility of the original officials.

 So Feng Ziying will not go to Baoding or Hejian. He has already made up his mind to go to Yongping Mansion.

However, there were some topics that he couldn't talk to Qi Yongtai. Qi Yongtai had a upright character. Although he could understand some of his difficulties, he would inevitably feel that he liked to be opportunistic and left a bad impression, so he had to have other more A good reason will do.

Feng Ziying still has to think carefully about how to persuade Qi Yongtai and prevent Qi Yongtai from having other unpleasant emotions.

 Of course, in addition to this aspect, Feng Ziying also has some other plans.

Having reached the fourth archway of Fuchengmen Street, Feng Ziying thought for a moment and saw that it was still early, so she simply turned her horse's head and rode towards Hongluochang.

“Sir, are you not going back to the mansion?” Ruixiang was surprised, “Didn’t I say that some girls from Rongguo Mansion are coming to the mansion today?”

“There’s no rush, let’s go to Prince Zhongshun’s Mansion first.” Feng Ziying nodded.

Ruixiang also knew that the relationship between the uncle and Prince Zhongshun had always been very close, especially after the opening of Haitong Yinzhuang Jingshi, which became more and more prosperous, there were more posts from Prince Zhongshun to the mansion.

Zhongshun Prince's Mansion is located on Chongguosi Street, which is adjacent to the chariot factory and connected to Dingfu Street.

The palaces of princes and princes are lined up in a row here. Most of the residences of the clan princes of the Great Zhou Dynasty are located in this line. However, in just over a hundred years, they have also experienced countless ups and downs.

Prince Zhongshun's Mansion was also Prince Ding's Mansion fifty years ago. Prince Ding was the younger brother of Emperor Guangyuan, but because he was involved in a palace scandal, he was demoted and made a commoner. Later, this mansion was given to Emperor Tianping. The seventh son, King Lu, was the half-brother of Emperor Yuanxi. However, King Lu lost power while helping his brother fight for the throne with Emperor Yuanxi. He was later imprisoned until his death. This mansion was given to him by Emperor Yuanxi. The ninth son is King Zhongshun.

Feng Ziying was already familiar with Prince Zhongshun's residence. When the concierge saw Feng Ziying's post, he welcomed Feng Ziying in even before the prince could reply.

As expected, King Zhongshun, who was still listening to the opera, left a group of actors behind and went into the study with Feng Ziying.

"Is Jia Lian really going to Yangzhou?" King Zhongshun was very dissatisfied with this. He felt that Jia Lian had done quite well in the capital for the past six months and had opened up all aspects of his career. "Ziying, I heard that you are also going to leave the capital. ?Why is this?”

Most people may not know or pay attention to the news that Feng Ziying is leaving Beijing, but as the major shareholder of Haitong Bank, King Zhongshun will naturally pay more attention. At first, he did not understand why Feng Ziying, who was so red, suddenly thought of leaving Beijing, but Later, after asking some people, I roughly understood it.

"Your Majesty, there are some things you should understand. The imperial court has the lion's share of the strategy of opening up the sea, but my father was in Yulin at that time, and now he has gone to Liaodong. He needs money, so I have nothing to say, but Jiangnan also has huge benefits. , only the north has not seen any profits for a while, how can we, the gentry and merchants in the north, be satisfied?" Feng Ziying smiled bitterly.

How could King Zhongshun not know these things? Feng Ziying has never despised this prince. He seems to be greedy for money and fun, playing tricks, masculinity, even corruption, and interfering in the judiciary. He is involved in everything, but he has always been able to stand firm. This is not just because he and the emperor are brothers. It will work if you have a good relationship, and the censors will not care about you.

"Is it because of this?" King Zhongshun seemed to be unconvinced, "Even so, there is no need to go to the local government, right? Even if you stay in the Hanlin Academy to hide your capabilities and bide your time for two years, won't it be enough?"

"My lord, keeping a low profile and biding your time is not suitable for lowering one's official position." Feng Ziying said calmly: "It is inevitable for the North to be dissatisfied, but this is indeed a real problem. We in the North have indeed not benefited much from it. If we say it must, then We can only tell the truth from Liaodong, but the Jianzhou Jurchens are now on the rise, and my father also felt a lot of pressure after his passing. In three to five years, we can only take a defensive stance against the Jianzhou Jurchens..."

  King Zhongshun nodded slightly.

Of course he is aware of the situation in Liaodong, and the emperor's brother is also the most concerned about the situation in Liaodong. The vigorous development of the Jianzhou Jurchens, especially since Nurhachi unified the Jianzhou Jurchens and launched an offensive to annex the Haixi Jurchens, the emperor's brother has been restless. , otherwise he would not have had the guts to replace Li Chengliang.

You must know that during his father's decades, Li Chengliang has been the anchor of Liaodong, but seeing the Jurchens' growing power in Jianzhou, the emperor's brother had to change his general even at the risk of Liaodong being unstable for a period of time.

Li Chengliang is old and no longer has the ambition and courage of the past. If he continues like this, it will be like boiling a frog in warm water. It will only completely ruin the situation in Liaodong, so the emperor brother made a decisive decision.

Feng Tang went to Liaodong and stabilized the situation in a short period of time. However, the momentum of the Jianzhou Jurchens was not completely curbed. This serious problem still existed and would even continue to grow.

"So it is very difficult to regain the impression of the northern scholars on me from Liaodong. However, Master Qi, Master Qiao and Master Guan will inevitably suffer some criticism, so I don't intend to waste two years." In the Hanlin Academy, I would rather go down to any prefecture in the North and do some real things." Feng Ziying was confident.

  King Zhongshun pondered for a moment, "Are you very optimistic about Yongping Mansion?"

 The cooperation between Shanxi merchants and Zhuangji has entered a substantial exploration stage, and they have begun to contact Haitong Yinzhuang for loans. King Zhongshun should have received some news about this.

"Look, Xiaguan is personally more optimistic. Foshan Zhuangji is very large, and its main exports are large quantities of various iron materials. However, there are not many mines in the south and the quality is not good. But here in Yongping Prefecture, it should not be Not bad." Feng Ziying nodded, "If we can replicate a prosperous town like Foshan that mainly focuses on the iron smelting industry in Yongping Prefecture, I believe that the criticism of the gentry in the North will be alleviated. many?"

 King Zhongshun understood. This man wanted to use his own ability to turn the tide, and he did not hesitate to use the following places as bets.

I am afraid that another person would never dare to make such a big gamble. If you go to a certain place, it will not be so easy to come back, especially if you are still criticized.

But if it is true, as Feng Ziying said, that a large and prosperous town similar to Foshan that integrates iron smelting, ironmaking and ironware sales can be replicated in Yongpingfu, the influence it will bring is indescribable. It turns out that even his official career will become brighter.

 The reason why King Zhongshun regarded it as a huge gamble was because the possibility was too slim.

It is nothing new that the line from Shuntian Prefecture to Yongping Prefecture is rich in iron ore. There are many government-run and private mines and iron smelting shops in the Zunhua area, but they are limited by the difficulty of mining, smelting technology and transportation. , market and many other factors. Although the iron smelting industry in Zunhua is considered developed in the north, it cannot be compared with Foshan.

Of course, the most important thing is the limitation of iron smelting technology and transportation capacity. In addition, the Shuntianfu line cannot compare with the convenience of Foshan relying on Guangzhou shipping and Pearl River shipping, so the market is relatively narrow, which creates a vicious circle.

"Ziying, your goal is too ambitious. It is so ambitious that although I really hope to succeed, I find it difficult to achieve it." King Zhongshun sighed and said: "Yongping Mansion is not a good place, you may be disappointed."

"You have to give it a try." Feng Ziying also understood that Yongping Prefecture can be regarded as the poorest prefecture in the entire Beizhili. It may only be slightly better than Wandu Division and Baoan Prefecture, but the poorer the area, As long as you find the right path, you will see results faster.

Seeing that Feng Ziying had made up her mind, King Zhongshun did not try to persuade him, "What about Jia Lian?"

"If Jia Lian is going to Yangzhou, let Jia Yun be responsible for the time being." Feng Ziying thought for a while and said: "I asked Jia Lian to consciously ask Jia Yun to assist him before. After taking it for so long, there should be no problem. "

"Jia Yun? Can that young man from a branch of the Jia family do it?" King Zhongshun was a little doubtful, "Ziying, I know that the capital number was very smooth in the early stage, but it does not mean that it can be the same in the future..."

"Your Majesty, it's the same sentence, if you believe me, leave it to me." There was an unquestionable confidence in Feng Ziying's tone. It was this confidence that always made King Zhongshun very optimistic about Feng Ziying.

"Well, Ziying, I hope so, but if the performance is not good, I hope you can find a more suitable candidate, especially if you are leaving the capital again." King Zhongshun exhaled in frustration.

 He originally wanted to recommend a candidate he was more optimistic about, but he found that he lacked the confidence in front of Feng Ziying.

After all, the other party launched the strategy of opening up the sea, which brought about all these changes. Even Wang Ziteng's trip to Denglai was partly due to Feng Ziying's strategy of opening up the sea, which was why Niu Jizong was saved from Beijing. The envoy was moved out, and now the Jingying Jiedu envoy has been vacant. King Zhongshun knew very well that his brother would never appoint another Jingying Jiedu envoy.

This guy not only has an amazing sense of smell in business, but also has unparalleled keen perception and coping methods when it comes to the ups and downs in the court.

It is impossible for Feng Ziying to hand over the Capital to anyone beyond her control. The upcoming series of actions in Yongping Mansion will require a large amount of funds. This time, the cooperation between Shanxi Merchants and Zhuang Ji will largely involve borrowing from Haitong Bank. And if there is no one whom you can completely control, you will definitely be bound by various constraints.

"Your Majesty, I also hope to stay in the capital city so that I can have better control. However, the strategy of opening up the sea has relieved the emperor's worries. Jiangnan has benefited, but I have become a victim." Feng Ziying spread her hands helplessly. , "Otherwise why should I leave? How unfair."

Prince Yi Zhong stared at Feng Ziying for a while and then laughed, "Ziying, being so resentful makes me feel that you are here for a purpose. Tell me, what do you need me to do with the emperor?"

“Your Majesty has misunderstood. I just want to tell you that the Supreme Emperor is very considerate of me...” Feng Ziying blinked.

King Zhongshun stared at Feng Ziying, half-smiling, "Is it still Uncle Yunchuan of yours? It's just a false title, is it that important? Or is it rumored that you really want to marry another family? Which girl will let you Are you so worried?"

Feng Ziying smiled and said nothing, but King Zhongshun finally snorted softly, "How come I have to do something like this that makes the emperor unhappy when I know about it?"

“Your Majesty, this may not make the Emperor unhappy. Maybe the Emperor is in a dilemma now and needs someone to give him a step up.” Feng Ziying said with a light smile.

King Zhongshun thought about it carefully and nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that the little actions of the father have also been noticed by the emperor brother. It seems that the situation may be as Feng Ziying said, and the emperor brother is also in a dilemma now.

 In this case, it is better to be a good person yourself, which can not only satisfy Feng Ziying, the emperor brother has a step to step up to, but also the father has nothing to say, and even allow all parties to achieve a happy result.

But is this guy really so romantic? King Zhongshun couldn't help but look at the other party one more time.

Still sorting it out, one update today.

  

 (End of this chapter)