Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 500 Dispute between two cabinet ministers
  In the Ouchi Yangxin Hall,

Wang Ziteng was still confused. Before he could catch his breath, and before he could see the situation clearly and calm his mind, Wang Ziteng heard Emperor Wu call his name and ask him what happened. When he got anxious, he Breaking out into a thin sweat, he took two steps out and replied,

"Back to Your Majesty, I'm afraid that Wang Ziteng will betray the divine grace. These days, I have been staying in the camp to train the soldiers of the Beijing camp, and I have not left the camp even half a step. Therefore, what your Majesty just mentioned about the affairs in the south of Beijing, I am I really don’t know, please punish me, Your Majesty.”

After saying that, Wang Ziteng lifted his clothes and knelt down on the ground to apologize. Everyone in the study had different expressions, some were thoughtful, some were silent, and some showed contempt. At once.

Civil servants have looked down on nobles for a long time, and it is even more shameless for them to look down on nobles who are obviously military heroes and pretend to be civil servants.

In particular, Wang Ziteng, who was neither civilized nor martial, relied on the protection of his ancestors, the marriage of women from the Wang family, and especially the foundation of the Jia family Ningrong's second house, to sit on the position of Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp. On the contrary, he became a person of one side. Although he had both sides, he was a member of the noble family after all, and could not get along with the civil servants. Therefore, Wang Ziteng and Baoning Hou Kang Guichen rarely knew about many matters in the court, and many of them were only known after the fact. It also feels like Emperor Wu deliberately arranged this, otherwise the commander of the army would not be at ease knowing the courtiers.

Of course Wang Ziteng could see it clearly, so even if he returned to his house and rested for a few days, he would always thank the guests behind closed doors. All civil servants would not see him, only his noble in-laws. Unless necessary, they would only meet once, and they would mostly stay in the military camp. In the middle of the day, he stared at his own one-third of an acre of land, and then stared at every move in the capital, but he sat peacefully.

As for the Marquis of Baoning, he basically did not return to his residence. He directly cleaned up a room in the Forbidden Army Camp and lived there all the time. Every few days, he went to Yangxin Hall to report in person. Therefore, since Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong ascended the throne, , the courtiers changed greatly, but the imperial army and the Beijing camp hardly moved, and the two of them sat peacefully.

I thought the emperor would blame me,
  But when Emperor Wu saw this, he was still very satisfied with Wang Ziteng. He was unmoved by foreign affairs and could still focus on training soldiers for the Beijing camp. It was really rare, especially since he was as cautious in words and deeds as Marquis Baoning and did not make friends with him. Ministers, let alone contact nobles, so that they can be used with peace of mind. Looking at the courtiers with different expressions in the hall, the reaction of the ministers today is quite abnormal.

"Get up, my dear, you are still dedicated to serving the public. I see it in my eyes and remember it in my heart. The affairs of the Beijing camp must be taken care of. The sergeants of each camp must organize the army in time these days, build up morale, and listen at any time. use."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will keep it in mind."

Wang Ziteng immediately thanked him, kowtowed and stood up, but he was frightened in his heart. Hearing His Majesty's words, it seemed that the troops in the Beijing camp were about to be trained immediately. They were about to mobilize troops. After all, mobilizing the troops in the Beijing camp was a big deal. What the Emperor just mentioned Regarding the matter in Jingnan, could it be that there was another turmoil there, or was it civil unrest, or was the White Lotus Sect resurrected? Prince Teng couldn't help but think about it. Although the land in Jingnan is rich and has a large population, it is short of water. The food was not plentiful and the people were impoverished. There were often refugees scattered in all directions. That year, it was because of the dry weather that the people had no harvest and there were many refugees. Local officials were corrupt and unable to provide disaster relief. The White Lotus Sect once again called out, and every call was answered by hundreds of people. The turmoil led to the corruption of the entire Central Plains and shocked the entire world.

If it hadn't been for the two princes of Ningrong's Second Mansion, leading the soldiers from the Beijing camp, to turn the tide and defeat the main force of the White Lotus Sect in Daliang City, the Central Plains would have been completely hopeless. There must be something fishy about His Majesty mentioning this matter again today.

It must not be bringing up old things again. Thinking back to what Jia Lian said, the fire in the official warehouse a few days ago may have been premeditated. There must be civil unrest in the south of Beijing. This can't be suppressed. Looking at the civil servants and ministers who still looked calm, In addition to fear, Wang Ziteng was filled with anger. They were all corrupt officials, which made the court so passive. They all claimed to be noble and noble, claiming to be the descendants of saints. They were corrupt and harmed the people. Could it be that they were taught by saints? They were shameless. Extremely.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong stroked the table, but he was not angry. He looked at the courtiers and smiled instead.
  "Haha, it seems that your lords really don't know. I, whether you really don't know or you are just pretending not to know, let Dai Quan explain this matter to you. Please listen carefully. What's going on? I actually called you all night long."

Then Emperor Wu glanced at Dai Quan. Dai Quan, who had been standing aside, immediately understood, took two steps forward, and said,
  "Dear elders, there must be a reason why I have called you here so late tonight. Today, the Imperial City Division received a report that there was a civil unrest in the south of Beijing, and there was rebellion from the Taiping Sect. It is currently known to be certain. Zhouzhou City, Zhaozhou City, and Chenzhou City were lost. There was no news from Linzhou City and Weizhou City. They may have encountered an accident. Linyuefu City in the south was also besieged by the Taiping Sect rebels and was in danger. General Gu of the South of Beijing Ping has already led his [-] troops from Linshan County to Linyue City to relieve the siege. Although there is no result yet, according to Zajia's opinion, the victory or defeat is probably between [-] and [-]! Or even less than [-] Yes, if this is the case, Lin Yue Mansion will be in danger."

Having said that,

Wang Ziteng had a look of shock on his face. He had really guessed that civil unrest was spreading in the south of Jingnan. Although it was violent, it had only just begun to appear, so the fighting power was definitely not strong. There was no doubt that it was still an opportunity to deal with the Jingying camp and himself. Generally speaking, military merit is difficult to obtain. This time, it cannot be said that this is the qualification for his advancement. But why does the internal minister say that the chance of winning is less than [-]%? The [-] troops under the command of Jingnan General Gu Ping must be on empty pay.

The other cabinet ministers were also quite puzzled as to how this could happen. They murmured a few words to each other. Only the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice looked a little ugly. They were the ones who suppressed this matter. Gu Yichen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, even sneered. , I want to see how the two of them end it.

The reactions of the people below were all seen by Emperor Wu on the high seat.
  "Now that everything has been said, what do you think?"

"Reply, Your Majesty, I have something that I don't understand, and I would like to ask General Dai for advice."

The first one to come out was not Gu Yichen and others, but people from the Ministry of Rites stood up. Everyone couldn't help but look over. Emperor Wu was also curious.

"Okay, Master Bian, please ask."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Bian Zheng straightened his robes, then bowed to Dai Quan and asked,

"Excuse me, Mr. Dai. You just said that General Jingnan led [-] troops under his command to go to Linyue Fucheng to rescue. He actually said that the victory was [-]-[-], which may not be [-]%, but who made the conclusion?"

Dai Quan always had an expressionless face. After listening to Bian Zheng's question, he took the Buddha dust and swept it, but he didn't know what he was sweeping.
  "Of course this is the conclusion reached by the Zajia family, but Shangshu Bian may have a different opinion."

"Haha, of course."

Bian Zheng immediately straightened his waist, glanced around, and asked again,
  "Then let me ask again, what Commander Dai just said, Gu Ping leads [-] people, is this an imaginary number or a real number?"

This question is the core of the problem. In Dawu, even the emperor knew that there were shortages of garrisons in various places, and empty pay was everywhere, let alone the poor places in the south. Ten thousand people would be enough to support the sky. How could Dai Quan answer with a smile? ,

"The Zajia understand what Bian Shangshu said, but this time, Bian Shangshu guessed wrong. General Gu has a real number of troops, [-] infantry and [-] cavalry, which are very elite."

"This, in that case, if we go south to Linyue Fucheng and cooperate with the defenders inside and outside, can't we still win?"

"Shang Shu Bian, what you said is not unreasonable, but according to the secret report received, the Taiping Sect's group is well-equipped and has a large number of people, which is not comparable to those of the mob. Besides, the number of the mob cannot be counted. As the saying goes, they are difficult to defeat with one punch. Hands, I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

Bian Zheng still wanted to refute, but he had no way to defend himself. He was wrong from the beginning.

"Return, Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Gu Yichen stood up in line and replied in a confident tone. When Emperor Wu saw that it was Mr. Gu Ge, he was also confused. The Hubu came forward and relieved Bian Zheng, "Gu Aiqing, tell me."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I feel that the war is the business of the generals, and the fighter planes are certainly not just random guesses here. My question is that there is something fishy about the Jingnan incident. It is reasonable to say that it is such a big thing. How could it be reported to the cabinet and then to His Majesty, but the veteran didn’t see these details in the cabinet, it’s really strange, Mr. Lu Ge, don’t you think so?”

Gu Yichen had no idea, but the doubts of the cabinet were thrown out first. This matter was also what Emperor Wu wanted to know. No matter what the odds of winning the war, since it was fought, even if there were thousands of strategies, they could not be conveyed.

After asking this question,

I thought that Lu Wenshan, the Minister of Civil Affairs, would look panicked after answering Gu Yichen's question, but I didn't know that Lu Wenshan stood in front of the team, his expression unchanged, his white beard twitching, the corner of his mouth smiling slightly, and he also replied,

"Your Majesty, let me tell you this matter."

"Okay, Lu Aiqing, please come and clear up the doubts."

Emperor Wu nodded in agreement. So far, I don't believe what the people in the cabinet say. I can only wait and see how they explain it. It can be seen that the gap between the north and the south is getting bigger and bigger. Could it be caused by their own internal disputes?

Mr. Lu Wenshan, Mr. Lu Ge, walked out calmly and looked at the people around him staring at him. There seemed to be a mocking look on his face. He was not flustered and said calmly,

"Back to Your Majesty, the incident in Jingnan was suppressed by the old minister on his own initiative. He also took the initiative to write a letter in the name of the cabinet and sent an urgent letter to Mr. Yu, the governor of Jingnan, asking him to open a warehouse to release grain for disaster relief and comfort. The refugees, and gathered all the soldiers who dared to fight in the south of Beijing, immediately extinguished the possible chaos, eliminated the disaster in the infancy, solved the serious troubles of the imperial court, and also thought carefully for the emperor to get rid of strange troubles, but God did not follow people's wishes , it was a good thing, but the local gentry colluded with officials to become corrupt, leading to a catastrophe."

While Lu Wenshan was talking, he looked at everyone's reactions with surprised expressions on their faces. He really couldn't believe it. Mr. Lu Ge admitted it himself.

I saw him continue to say,
  "Your Majesty, I know that this matter is suspected of deceiving Your Majesty, but my loyalty can be learned from time to time. Just a few days ago, the cabinet had not received the memorial from Jingnan, but the memorial from Zeng Ze, the prefect of Linshan County, was sent At that time, the old minister was shocked, how could the land south of Beijing be so corrupted to such an extent? I was really shocked."

"That's not because of you Lu Wenshan. You dared to hide such an important thing without telling the superiors. If Lin Yue's city was not about to be lost, I think you, Lu Shangshu, would still be able to sit calmly and calmly."

Just as he was talking, he was interrupted by Gu Yichen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who spoke out and pointed out the key points. There seemed to be an angry look on his face.
  After hearing this, Lu Wenshan laughed and looked at Gu Yichen mockingly,
  "Ah haha, Mr. Gu Ge is impatient. Let's not talk about my fault for the moment. Let's talk about whether your household department is responsible, especially you, Gu Yichen."

"Huh, I still want to make excuses. What's the responsibility of my household department?"

How could Gu Yichen be framed by Lu Wenshan? He asked back without politeness.

Lu Wenshan's face suddenly straightened up, he stared into Gu Yichen's eyes and asked,

"You are not yet responsible for the Ministry of Household Affairs. With these words of Mr. Gu Ge, you clearly left out your own responsibilities. Then guess what, when I gave Mr. Yu a reply, Yu Ren, the governor of the southern part of the capital, How do you get back the discount? Do you know!"

After speaking, Lu Wenshan sneered, then took out a memorial from his arms, turned around and presented it with both hands,

"Your Majesty, this is Yu Renze's reply to the cabinet and ministers. Your Majesty, please preview it."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong was silent and looked at the audience with sharp eyes. Although he didn't know the inside story, it was getting more and more interesting. When Dai Quan saw this, he also walked over with small steps, took the memorial from Old Lu Ge, and then walked slowly When he arrived at the Imperial Case, he carefully placed the memorial in front of Emperor Wu, then stepped back and returned to his original place.

Emperor Wu did not open the memorial, but looked at Lu Wenshan with a playful expression. This person was a close minister who followed him when he was still the prince. He was considered a hard worker and a confidant who he relied on. After he ascended the throne, this person was quite talented. , gave advice and suggestions without omission, and served wholeheartedly.

After careful consideration, and for the purpose of strategizing civil affairs, he was placed in the Ministry of Personnel, where he successively served as a doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, a minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and then he was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and also joined the cabinet. Unexpectedly, Lu Wenshan now had strong wings and dared to do it. Although there was no disobedience in this matter, it was done after all. As for the other people, they pretended to be confused and understood. Now they understand why my father relied on the nobles and did not let the civil servants go. But today they also understand that the civil servants I'm afraid he's even more powerful than Xungui, and he's greedy, but that's fine, he was discovered early.

Emperor Wu was thoughtful and silent, which made the courtiers in the hall look a little uneasy, especially Lu Wenshan, who also felt that something was wrong. He had been with Emperor Wu in his early years and knew that the more indifferent the emperor showed, the warmer and angry he felt in his heart, and he was afraid that he This time the horse stumbled and the holy will was lost. I'm afraid it will be difficult in the future. As for the position of chief assistant, it is just a passing thing. But I can't take it, and Gu Yichen can't even think about it. I'm so cruel and careless.

"Lu Aiqing, keep talking, I don't want to see, I want to hear what you say."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the memorial submitted by the veteran was written by Yu Renze himself. It was a memorial written to sue the Ministry of Revenue. The memorial said that in order to verify the official warehouses of the world, the Ministry of Revenue sent people to inspect. In Linshan County, there is a strict order to collect grain and grass, especially the official warehouse where the county seat is located, which must be filled up on time. In order to cope with the inspection by the imperial court, all the grain stored in various prefectures and counties in the south of Beijing, as well as grain for disaster relief, were brought back. The official warehouse was filled with refills. Who would have known that after the officials from the Ministry of Revenue saw that the official warehouse was full, they inspected the grain and sealed the warehouse directly. Then they took the token from the Ministry of Revenue and said, "Don't touch even a grain of grain. This is against the order." Those who want to kill him will be killed."

Then Lu Wenshan looked at Emperor Wu with a look of sorrow and anger on his face and said with a cry,

"Your Majesty, there are so many people in the land south of Beijing. They are all waiting for the food to save their lives. However, the people from the Ministry of Household Affairs said with a warrant that anyone who touches the food in the official warehouse is committing treason. In Linyue Mansion City, There is also the city below, where the officials are not full to eat, not to mention the people, especially the county government in Zhaozhou City. In addition to the county magistrate and the county magistrate, there are [-] other officials. They all starve to death. What a big joke, Your Majesty."

Lu Wenshan suddenly pointed his finger at Gu Yichen and said sternly,
  "Master Gu, Shangshu Gu, it's impossible that you don't know about this. Haven't those officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs written to you? Even the prefect of Linshan County must have written to you. What about the memorial? You can let it go. Where have you been!"

Gu Yichen's face was as gloomy as water. He looked like Lu Wenshan and Mr. Lu Ge. He was really powerful. His ability to survive in death was really eye-opening.

As for the others, they were all shocked that so many things had happened in the cabinet. Wang Ziteng and Kang Guichen looked at each other in shock and felt a little incredible. The civil servants were really ruthless and even talked about in vain.

Gu Yichen said in a deep voice with a cold face,
  "That's a good question, Mr. Lu. I dare to ask Mr. Lu, is there really no food in the official warehouses in the south of Beijing, or is the food eaten by your disciples, relatives and merchants? If there are official warehouses in the county and city, I If I remember correctly, the official warehouse should have been full last year. Why is it not full this year? Where did the food go? Could it be that I ran away? If I hadn't sent people from the Ministry of Households to investigate closely, then these The grain in the warehouse is probably still empty, so in the end, if even this grain is gone, Mr. Lu, tell me, what will we do then?"

(End of this chapter)