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Chapter 778 The king has improved again
Since Prince Rui innovatively proposed the concept of "peaceful new thinking" to solve the Huguang issue, the entire Hubei battlefield has remained stable since the twelfth lunar month.

That is, there is no major offensive on both sides, only small frictions in some areas.

All kinds of rumors about Prince Rui fearing the war and slacking off fighting, all kinds of rumors in the past, have long since disappeared under the favorable situation of the Qing army.

There are two versions of public opinion.

One theory is claimed in the "Frontline News" run by General Wang Xingyuan.

That is to say, under the wise command of Prince Rui, the Qing official army successively regained several important towns and recruited some surrendered troops, which greatly dealt a blow to the arrogance of the bandit army, forcing the bandit army to shrink their battle lines and retreat to the front line of Wuchang without daring to act rashly. The momentum of the beast.

The report also said that according to the current situation, the entire territory of Hubei should be recovered in March next year. At that time, the heroic army of the Qing Dynasty will be able to launch the final offensive against the bandits in Hunan and Jiangxi under the command of Prince Rui. Complete the reunification of the Qing Dynasty.

"Frontline News" is a special newspaper for General Wang Xingyuan, with a small circulation of only a thousand copies, mainly for internal reference.

In principle, it is not distributed to the outside world, and the newspapers are only distributed to the level of the military officer Qianzong, the civilian magistrate level, and the civilian staff of various ministries, as well as influential local gentry.

Regarding why a newspaper should be run in Xingyuan, Xingyuan’s public statement is to let the officers and soldiers understand the current battle situation in more detail, know the high-level decision-making, and thus know why, how, and where we are fighting.

This is undoubtedly a major innovation that has never been seen in the military of the past dynasties, and it is also a powerful move for Prince Rui to implement the New Deal.

After the newspaper was published, it was very popular with military officers.

It is said that Prince Rui originally intended that all the soldiers could read newspapers, but because the literacy rate of the officers and soldiers remained stable at [-]%, this idea had to be aborted.

In order to solve the problem of soldiers' difficulty in literacy, Xingyuan recently set up a "literacy office" to promote rapid literacy in various troops.

Start small, start easy.

Prince Rui instructed that every soldier should learn one word every day, and be able to read "Hundred Surnames" after one year.

Therefore, this project is also known as the "Three Ones" project.

For this purpose, Xingyuan allocated 5 taels for the "Three Ones" project.

However, due to limited funds and limited teaching materials and teachers, the "Three Ones" project is currently only promoted in the Green Battalion and the three towns of the Jiangjun, and will be promoted to the Eight Banners after sufficient funds are available.

Comparing to what the "Frontline Newspaper" said, another theory is that the bandit army is accumulating strength, secretly mobilizing troops, preparing to launch a big offensive after the Spring Festival, and may concentrate heavy troops to directly fight to the death with the Central Route Army led by Prince Rui.

It is credible to say that the rebel army would spread smoke bombs in large quantities before the battle, and their target was not the Eight Banners Army in the middle route commanded by Prince Rui, but the Shaanxi Admiral Wang Deyong's department.

In this way, the elite soldiers from Shaanxi and Gansu can be wiped out, and Prince Rui's arm can be cut off, and the grain and grass passages between Prince Rui's army and Sichuan and Shaanxi can be cut off from the side, forcing Prince Rui to divide his troops to resist, which will affect the strategy of the Qing army situation.

This kind of statement mainly comes from folk gossip, various rumors, and the countermeasures of scholars from all over the world. It has not been officially confirmed at present.

It is that Prince Rui himself has repeatedly emphasized in military discussions that the mistakes of the past should not be made, what mistakes?
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Gao's four-way attack on Hetuala, the land of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty, was a mistake.

Specific to the current battle situation, it is necessary to beware of the bandit army "let you come three ways, I will only go one way".

For this reason, a large number of secret agents were active in various places, working together inside and outside, in order to present the movement of the bandit army to Prince Rui's desk as soon as possible.

But no matter what kind of argument it is, Prince Rui's outstanding commanding ability and achievements are undeniable.

With the great achievements of Prince Jianrui, under the strong protests of important ministers such as Queenie, Minister of Rites and Military Plane, and A Siha, Minister of Officials, the court led by Lao Fu had to make a corresponding statement.

On the 21st of the twelfth lunar month, a decree from the capital was sent to Zhongxiang quickly.

In addition to commending the soldiers of the Southern Expedition, the decree ordered Prince Rui to be the Prime Minister of the military affairs of Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, to double the number of reliance on military affairs in the three provinces of Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi.

Doubling the guard of honor is an honor, and the actual benefit is not great.

It is to increase the number of Prince Rui's current guard of honor from 120 to 240, although in fact Prince Rui's traveling guard will never be less than 500 people.

But anyway, it's an honor.

The meaning of Prime Minister Yingtian Water Conservancy is to let Prince Rui be in charge of land consolidation and water conservancy construction in the war zone in addition to the battle.

This is not interesting, it is mainly a matter for the local governor to supervise.

It is interesting to lead the Forbidden Army of the Tiger Gun Battalion, as we all know that the Forbidden Army of the Tiger Gun Battalion belongs to Prince An's family.

However, Lao Fu blatantly assigned the Tiger Gun Battalion directly to the six virtuous brothers in terms of purpose. He was clearly digging into Prince An's corner and instigating the masses to fight against the masses.

"The struggle between Beijing and China has already begun. Fu Zhongtang is explicitly and secretly forcing me to take sides."

Jia Liu snorted slightly, he wouldn't be fooled by the old rich to take over the Tiger Gun Camp.

In terms of blood relationship, if his surname is Jia, Uncle Se is his first cousin.

If his surname is Ai, Master Se and he are also relatives who have not left the fifth clothes.

You, Zhang Jia, Fu, neither married your daughter to me nor promised me your granddaughter, so why would you want me to turn against my relatives.

So someone was sent to inform his second cousin, Urshibalan, that the Tiger Spear Battalion was nominally a personal soldier of Prince Rui's, but the actual command was still his second cousin's.

All of the above are not beneficial to Jia Liu, and the only thing that catches his eye is the addition of the Minister of State.

Because the Minister of State Affairs was a high-ranking position in the early days of the country, and it was also the highest honor of the courtiers. During the Kangxi Dynasty of the emperor, Aobai and others assisted the government as the Minister of State Affairs, so they were domineering.

However, after Emperor Kangxi, the holy ancestor, took power, the ministers of state affairs only existed in name, and the actual power had been transferred to the ministers of the interior and the former imperial ministers. After Yongzheng, it was assigned to the ministers of military affairs.

The so-called meeting of the king and ministers after Kangxi, in essence, there is no such thing as a king at all, it is a grand court meeting attended by officials above a certain level and ministers.

Jia Liuqian proposed to convene a meeting of kings and ministers to discuss politics, and the participants he proposed were ministers, governors, and ministers.

Since the Qianlong Dynasty, many important ministers have been given the title of minister of state affairs, but they have not been given the title of clan prince.

Therefore, it was truly a great honor for Prince Rui to be awarded the title of Minister of State Affairs, and it also further improved his political status, because from now on he could call himself the State Councilor.

According to the custom established in the century since the founding of the country, the most expensive prince is the regent, the second is the administration, and the second is the Heshuo and Duoluo.

As for the general king, it is just a special appointment under special circumstances, which is not an exception.

At present, there are only two of them, and they belong to the positions that will be dismissed when they are exhausted, not serious civil servants.

Then, looking at the Qing Dynasty, apart from Prince Rui, who else is there in the Qing Dynasty to discuss politics?
"no!"

Director Ji affirmed it sincerely.

Jia Liu was immediately elated, and happily said to the left and right: "It seems that I am no longer as simple as sitting on the rostrum, according to legal principles, according to the order of ethics, according to axioms, and according to people's hearts, the prince must also be ranked behind me? "

It seems to be asking about, but in fact, the tone of Wang Ye's voice is affirmative, not consultative.

So they said in unison: "My lord is wise!"

In fact, Jia Liu's understanding made some sense.

First of all, in theory, the puppet emperor Qianlong, the fourth devil, is still the eldest, but Jia Liu, the political deliberative king, is the second, and the crown prince is the third.

In fact, the fourth child is the eldest child, Jia Liu is the second child, and Se and Fu are tied for the third child.

The reason is that Uncle Se is only Prince He Shuo'an, not Prince He Shuo'an who discusses politics with him.

Although Lao Fu is the foreman military minister, he is not even an uncle in actual title.

In terms of military power, the combined bargaining chips of the two are not enough for Jia Liu to hold a stud.

If it weren't for the fear that Yuan Shikai would usurp the throne and become the emperor now, and the governors from the north and the south would flock to oppose it, leading to civil war, severely hurting the country's vitality, and displacing the people. Jia Liu would have kicked Qianlong out of the board of directors and made himself a legal representative.

Thinking of something, I asked Ji Yun: "Old Ji, you are a great professor, you have great knowledge and know a lot, can you tell me, does this deliberative king have a veto power?"

Ji Yun was puzzled: "What is a veto?"

Jia Liu didn't know how to explain it, so he could only say, "It's just that the emperor has some ideas, and this king will not do it if he says no."

"Well, in principle, there is no problem."

Ji Yun's answer is a bit ambiguous.

"There is no problem in principle, so what about in principle?"

Jia Liu has all kinds of bad things, but one good thing is that he must break the casserole and ask the end of the matter.

Institutional matters are very important.

Lao Ji's eyes flickered, as if he was thinking about something, and finally he said bluntly: "My lord is now a general discussing politics, and the territory is based on Sichuan and Zhili. If there is Hubei, there will be three of the eighteen provinces in the interior."

Jia Liu didn't know what Ji Yun wanted to say, but he had to correct him and said, "It's not three, it's eight."

Ji Yun was taken aback, wondering where the eight came from.

"Shandong governor Guotai and the admiral are the only close friends of mine. The soldiers of the Shandong battalion are very kind to me. Governor Le Erjin of Shaanxi and Gansu and Bi Yuan, governor of Shaanxi are also close friends with me. Governor Wang Tingzan of Gansu and Governor Wang Danwang of Zhejiang are members of the association. Xu Ji, governor of Tianjin, burned yellow paper with me."

Jia Liu is not without pride. He has no other advantages, except that he has many friends.

The first and second leaders in these eight provinces are either co-progressive members, mutual aid members, or double-faced members.

As long as Jia Liu holds a heavy army and takes the lead in overthrowing the imperial court, the eight provinces will definitely send a congratulatory message to the great Emperor Shikai immediately, and send a telegram to the whole country to respond.

"Well"

Lao Ji's face flushed like chicken blood, "According to this, there are not eight, but ten!"

Now Jia Liu is puzzled, he has only developed eight provinces so far, how can he get ten provinces.

Lao Ji reminded Jia Liu not to forget the Hunan and Jiangxi provinces occupied by the Xinghan Army.

Jia Liu shook his head: "My father-in-law is a bit conservative, so he might agree to my surname Zhu."

"That's all right,"

Lao Ji rolled his eyes, "My lord now controls eight of the eighteen provinces in the interior, like half of the country, and has tens of thousands of elite soldiers. In the end, there are only two ways to go: one is Yue Wumu, who dies and the country is in danger; the other is Cao Mengde, the wind is favorable and cannot be stopped. These two are not the emperor who kills the ministers, but the ministers kill the emperor. How can I deal with the prince?"

Jia Liu's head got dizzy when he heard it: "Old Ji, if you speak plain language to me, it's not like you don't know that this king has only attended Qi Xue for three years."

Lao Ji hurriedly said: "The meaning of the lower official is that it is better for the lord to explain the lord's ambitions to Gu Shuai. It would be better if we can join forces and go back to the capital to win the great treasure. Watching the fire from the other side. After the prince becomes the lord of the world, war or peace can always be decided by one vote."

"Old Ji, you always touch my heartstrings,"

Jia Liu looked pensive, and picked up the special decree from the capital, and saw that there was a line at the end, but upon closer inspection, it was "The ancestral society today is all thanks to Prince Rui, and Prince Rui's literary and martial arts can help me to rule the world. They met each other for thousands of years, and now I got it between Prince Rui and me."

"What do you mean by that?"

Feel free to ask Lao Ji to translate.

"My lord, what the emperor means is that you are the most virtuous king in the world today. He hopes that your lord can assist him well and achieve the eternal good story of the monarch and his ministers getting along well. Hey, isn't that right?"

is not right.

Lao Ji thought it was wrong, and Jia Liu also thought it was wrong.

That is, whether this decree was written by the old rich, or by the fourth devil.

If it was written by Lao Fu, it would be fine to give some false honors, and write nonsense about the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, and Lao Fu can't say that Jia Liu is the most virtuous king in the world.

Because, what kind of virtue Jia Liu is, everyone in the world is kept in the bones, and people who are old and rich are also clean.

But if it was written by the fourth devil, then there will be problems.

How could Lao Fu allow the fourth devil to distribute red-headed documents at will without his permission?

"Is the old rich and the fourth devil in cahoots?"

Jia Liu frowned deeply and shook his head for a while, thinking it was impossible.

The old rich and the fourth devil have the hatred of taking their wives.

Ji Yun put forward another guess: "My lord, could it be that Prince An and the fourth devil are on good terms again?"

"Ok?"

Jia Liu didn't think it was possible, because the fourth devil fell into the situation he is in today because of Master Se's betrayal and betrayed him.

The palace had changed that day, if it hadn't been for the collective betrayal of Uncle Se's imperial guards inlaid with yellow flags, even if Jia Liu led his troops into the palace, it would not be so easy to drag the fourth devil out of power.

This is a deep hatred that is more hateful than the hatred of taking one's wife.

"My lord, you once said that there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends in this world."

Ji Yun felt that he had to remind the prince, "The safest place is the most dangerous place, no, the safest place is the most dangerous place."

Bao Zhu, who was dozing off on the chair next to him, also woke up at this time. Hearing Director Ji's words, he curled his lips: "Your Excellency, I mean, is there a possibility that the fourth devil did some ideological work behind your backs? How about pulling Fu Zhongtang and Prince An over there?"

(End of this chapter)