Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2384: Changes (III) Foresight
"Killing stick?" Menggu Zhezhe asked doubtfully, "What's the difference between the two?"

"The difference between life and death."

Gao Youshi snorted coldly and explained, "If Concubine Zheng wants to play some tricks, if she only plays them in the palace, whether the nature of the tricks is serious or how serious they are depends on the emperor's decision. According to the emperor's favor to her, it can be reduced to a small matter.

But if it is not limited to the harem, but involves the outer court, or even the army, then it will be difficult to deal with. Even if the emperor is willing to protect her, sometimes it is difficult to do anything, and even arouse opposition from the outer court.

Think about it, the Emperor had just sealed the heaven and earth this year, prayed for the people, paid homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, offered sacrifices to Taizu, and then cleansed the northern border to ensure the eternal peace of the Ming Dynasty... At this time, would he be willing to conspire to interfere in state affairs for the sake of a concubine, or even launch a mutiny and cause a big fallout with the civil and military officials?
Of course not. Once this matter gets out, no one can save Concubine Zheng. But our emperor still can't let go of this favorite concubine in his heart, so he threw this difficult task to me, the unlucky Prime Minister, as usual...

He wanted to use my killing stick to intimidate this unruly imperial concubine, but he didn't want me to really kill the whole Zheng family in one fell swoop. He also wanted the outside court to have no way of knowing the inside story, or even if they had suspicions, they couldn't find any real evidence, and it would become a mystery from then on. Haha, he really wanted this, that, and that..."

Menggu Zhezhe was confused and said in astonishment: "I don't understand what the master is saying."

Logically speaking, since the Queen and her entourage had already arrived, Gao Youshi should have quickly ended the conversation and asked someone to invite the Queen, the Crown Prince, and Concubine Zheng to come in for a "visit." But strangely, Gao Youshi didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. He even seemed to be deliberately leaving someone out. He actually smiled and asked Meng Gu Zhezhe, "What don't you understand? Ask."

"No one believed Concubine Zheng when she said she was coming to admit her mistakes. But based on the current situation, we can only guess that she was going to do something clever. But why did the master seem to already know what she was going to do, and even know that this matter was so serious that he accused her of 'conspiring to interfere in government affairs and even launching a mutiny'?"

"What do you think of the Tieling Li family?" Gao Youshi asked with a smile.

Menggu Zhezhe's eyelids jumped subconsciously, and he lowered his head and said, "The Tieling Li family is a pillar of the court. Since Ningyuan Bo was sent to Liaodong, they have been one of the most trusted generals in the northern border of the court. After that, Ningyuan Bo returned to the court to rest, and his son Li Rusong was able to continue to govern Liaodong for his achievements in the northwest. The Li family can be said to be the pillar of Liaodong."

"Anything else?" Gao Fusi asked calmly.

"There is also my uncle Li Rumei. He has fought for many years with his father and brother and has made many military achievements. Especially in the war to aid Korea against the Japanese invaders, he succeeded his brother as the commander-in-chief of the Japanese invasion and fought with his master throughout the war. He made great achievements and was promoted to deputy commander of the Imperial Guard after the war. He is the most promising young general in the army."

"Anything else?" Gao Youshi asked again.

"Uh, and the other brothers of the Li family..."

"The rest is just a bunch of rubbish, so there's no need to go into detail." Gao Youshi shook his head and waved his hand, saying, "You only mentioned some things that everyone knows, but you didn't mention the main point."

"The key point?" Menggu Zhezhe was puzzled, but she couldn't figure out what the key point Gao Fusi was referring to, so she could only say, "I really don't know, please enlighten me, Master."

Gao Youshi said: "First, the Li family is the local boss of Liaodong. Even though I have mixed some sand in Liaodong over the years and supported some Liaodong generals outside the Li family, it is undeniable that in Liaodong, without the cooperation of the Li family, even the imperial edict will be implemented with some discounts.

In the previous war to aid Korea against the Japanese pirates, Li Rusong's losses were not small, but he immediately returned to Liaodong to lick his wounds and replenish his strength. Later, with the progress of military reform, the Ming Dynasty organized ten Type A armies, eighteen Type B armies, and an indefinite number of Type C armies.

In this reorganization, Liaodong only got the Liaodong First Army, but not the Liaodong Second Army. In other words, there was only one Type A field army, but no Type B garrison army as a defense. But for this reason, I had to leave Liaodong with a temporary organization of three Type C armies...

The external explanation for this was that with the remnant Yuan Dynasty fleeing westward, Korea annexing the country, and the Jurchens relocating their garrisons, the defense pressure in Liaodong suddenly decreased, so it was sufficient to maintain an elite field force to deter the Khorchin and the Jurchen tribes, without having to set up an additional Type B garrison. The three Type C armies were set up to cultivate wasteland and develop the Liaodong economy.

However, this is just a superficial statement. In reality, I want to reduce the weight of Liaodong's military power in the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty. Liaodong originally had an army of 180,000. Although it was not fully staffed, it was almost there, with a total of 150,000 to 160,000. Among them, Li Rusong's own army had more than 40,000, and they were the elite of the Liaodong army. In addition, there were also quasi-direct descendants led by generals who had received favors from the Li family or were originally from the Li family, probably as many as 40,000 to 50,000.

In this way, more than half of the 150,000 to 60,000 troops in Liaodong are directly controlled by the Li family. At the same time, no matter how I try to interfere, the general of Liaodong is Li Rusong after all. If the Li family really wants to make a big move, he has plenty of ways to deal with the threat in advance - for example, in the name of convening all the generals to discuss matters, first trick the generals to Guangning for a meeting, then detain the generals, and at the same time send people to control the non-direct troops. If they are worried that the troops will still refuse to obey, they can also send troops to approach and force them at the same time... In short, this is not difficult to do.

Therefore, even though the emperor has great trust in Li Rusong, as the chief minister of the cabinet, I still have to be on guard. Therefore, I only give Liaodong a Type A army, so that the direct and quasi-direct descendants of the Li family can only be reduced from 80,000 to 50,000 - after all, they will not be willing to become Type C troops and settle down in peace from now on, right? If they are really willing, then I would be happy to see it. "

Menggu Zhezhe suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. However, since we have successfully weakened the Li family's strength in Liaodong..."

"How can it be that simple?" Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "Even if Li Rusong doesn't say anything on the surface, how can he be happy in his heart if I do this? Therefore, when Khorchin and the Jurchens surrendered to the Li family this time, I gave the Li family the organization of the Second Longjiang Army as compensation."

"Ah, then the previous weakening was in vain?" Menggu Zhezhe wondered.

"How can it be in vain?" Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "80,000 to 90,000 people concentrated in Liaodong would be a huge threat, but if 30,000 to 40,000 of them were dispersed to Longjiang, which has a small population but a vast territory, wouldn't the threat to the court be much smaller?

Moreover, the Longjiang Second Army is a mixed army, and not all of them are from the Li family. There are also people from Khorchin and Shengnuzhen mixed in. The Li family cannot control it as easily as the Liaodong First Army. "

"Oh... That is to say, although on the surface the Li family's strength has been damaged very little, in fact, the master has dispersed their power and introduced some checks and balances." Menggu Zhezhe now understood.

Gao Youshi nodded and continued to analyze: "Secondly, Li Rumei, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, did not enter the camp alone. He has some strength in the Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard adopted a recruitment system, but the source of soldiers was not entirely from the people. Some were selected from various guards, especially the nine frontier towns. In this process, Liaodong, as a place where elite soldiers were born, naturally recruited a lot of them. As far as I know, Li Chengliang played a big role in this matter...although it was very covert.

You don't need to know the details, but in short, there are about 12,000 soldiers from Liaodong in the Imperial Guard. These people naturally tend to unite around Li Rumei, and objectively form Li Rumei's base in the Imperial Guard. Of course, the generals from Liaodong in the Imperial Guard are also like this. "Factions formed by regions are very common in Chinese history. Even if the Imperial Guard has some systems to control this, it cannot be said that it is completely unaffected. This is against people's will and is impossible to do.

Menggu Zhezhe seemed to understand Gao Youshi's meaning when she heard this. She was a little shocked and said, "Master, are you... doubting my son-in-law?"

"The one who holds the power in the world should regard everyone in the world as suspicious." Gao Youshi said calmly: "I am not targeting Ziqing. In fact, I have always been optimistic about him, otherwise I would not have married my sister to him. But he is from the Tieling Li family after all, and his father, Earl Ningyuan, has been living in Beijing for many years, but he has always been 'retired but not retired'. So I naturally have to be on guard to be on the safe side."

Menggu Zhezhe was silent for a moment, then asked, "Then what the master means is that Concubine Zheng intends to use the power of the Ningyuan Earl... or the Tieling Li family in the army to launch a mutiny?"

At this point, she shook her head and said, "That's impossible. How can she be so confident that she can convince Ning Yuanbo and Deputy Commander Li? How can Ning Yuanbo and Deputy Commander Li be so confident that they can successfully mutiny with only 12,000 guards? You know, although these 12,000 people are loyal to Deputy Commander Li, they are not Li's loyal soldiers! Not to mention that there is Commander Ma in charge of the Jingbei camp. How many people are willing to listen to Deputy Commander Li's orders? I'm afraid it's hard to say!"

Gao Fusi smiled and said, "You are right. If everything is normal, this is how things should be analyzed. However, you have overlooked two possible variables."

"What variables?" Menggu Zhezhe was very surprised.

"The first variable is, what if I die of illness this time, or at least I can't take charge of the overall situation?" Gao Youshi smiled and said, "Look, what was Ma Gui's first reaction when he heard that I was suddenly 'seriously ill'? He immediately ordered the entire army to return to the camp and wait for orders, but he kept the camp gates closed - do you know what this means?"

Menggu Zhezhe thought about it, then shook her head and said, "I can't say for sure."

"It's hard to say for sure." Gao Fusi said calmly, "He just wants people to feel 'it's hard to say' - that is, he wants everyone to not know what he means.

Of course, from what I know about him, he was trying to prevent anyone in the Guards from getting involved in the power struggle, so he withdrew his troops back to the camp, closed the camp gates, and acted as if he would remain silent and still without an imperial decree or an order from the cabinet.

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This is because, for him, only the orders from the emperor and me are what he can obey and execute at this moment. Any other orders may get him into trouble - if he is not careful, he will be accused of conspiracy and rebellion, and then his entire family will be in danger. "

"What about the Li family?" Menggu Zhezhe asked.

"Ningyuan Bo sent someone to see Ziqing, but Ziqing did not take any action." Gao Youshi said: "From the timing point of view, when Ningyuan Bo sent someone to see Ziqing, even if Concubine Zheng wanted to, she did not have time to inform him. In other words, sending someone to see Ziqing this time was Ningyuan Bo's own idea, not at the behest of Concubine Zheng."

Menggu Zhezhe was surprised and asked, "Doesn't that mean she is no longer a suspect?"

"Don't be impatient, I haven't finished yet." Gao Youshi stretched out his hand to signal her to calm down, and then continued: "Ning Yuanbo's move only shows that he is well-informed and may intend to fish in troubled waters, but it does not mean that he will definitely do anything. Even if I go to confront him now, he can say that he is just telling Ziqing out of friendship and preparing to visit me.

As for Concubine Zheng, if she really wanted to take action, she should have sent someone to contact Earl Ningyuan by now... I just asked Uncle Mo to strengthen the surveillance of Earl Ningyuan's mansion to see if this was really possible. And what you asked before, how Concubine Zheng persuaded Earl Ningyuan and Ziqing... This is actually very easy to guess."

"Ah?" Menggu Zhezhe was a little unconvinced: "If this kind of thing fails, it will be a serious crime. How come it is so easy to guess?"

Gao Youshi said, "Is it difficult to guess? If I were Concubine Zheng, I would just make a promise that after the matter is done, I would reward the Duke with the Duke of the State and reward Ziqing with the Imperial Guards. Liaodong would be governed by the Li family, just like the Mu Mansion in Yunnan... Wouldn't that be enough?"

Menggu Zhezhe was stunned for a long while, and felt a chill down his spine. He couldn't help but said, "But if this fails..."

"How could it fail?" Gao Youshi said with a smile, "As long as I am no longer around, this matter is not set in stone, but at least it is almost certain. It is totally worth a gamble."

"Ah?" Menggu Zhezhe was a little incredulous, frowning and saying, "It shouldn't be like this. Even if, even if it's according to what the master said... But the Imperial Guard has Commander Ma in charge, he won't allow Deputy Commander Li to lead his troops out of the camp. If the Imperial Guard doesn't leave the camp, how can this mutiny go on?"

"Have you forgotten my analysis of Ma Gui just now?" Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "I have no orders to give him. There is also the Emperor."

"Your Majesty? Is the Emperor going to rebel against himself?" Menggu Zhezhe widened her eyes, totally unable to believe it.

Gao Fusi shrugged: "Who said that the emperor's decree must be issued by the emperor himself?"

"Ah?" Menggu Zhezhe was a little confused: "What do you mean?"

"If a senior eunuch from the Imperial Household Department went to the Imperial Guards to announce the Emperor's order, and the order did not require Ma Gui to do anything, but only ordered Li Rumei to lead the army into the city - or even to lead the army to Deshengmen or Andingmen to wait for orders. At this time, do you think Ma Gui would refuse to obey the order? Does he have any reason to refuse to obey the order?"

Menggu Zhezhe was puzzled: "Are you saying that Concubine Zheng hired someone to forge the imperial edict? But it is impossible for Chen Zhangyin to surrender to her!"

"There is more than one eunuch in the Imperial Household Department, Chen Zhangyin." Gao Youshi chuckled and shook his head, "Have you forgotten that there is a master with a special status who always refuses to settle down?"

Meng Guzhezhe's mind flashed through the names of several eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and she was suddenly shocked: "Li Wenjin?"
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