Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 545 The wind blows south
"Your Highness, I suggest that Wang Hui be promoted to the position of Minister of Household Affairs. After thinking about it, I still feel that delegating the position to an official position with a little training is more suitable for my future path."

Gao Guan took the initiative to take responsibility for Zhu Zhanhe and asked for devolution.

When he came, he thought about it and realized that what Xu Shuo said in asking him to take the initiative to devolve himself made sense. However, this was not to say that he was really not suitable for the East Palace, but to retreat in order to advance.

If he is sent down, the people below will know that he was sent down after his suggestion, which means that he has been punished by His Highness.

In this way, His Highness's majesty is established, and he will not be hated by the people below.

"Even mentioning someone has to be so obscure..."

Gao Guan smiled bitterly in his heart, and at the same time felt that he did owe Xu Shuo a lot for this favor, and it would not be so easy to repay it in the future.

"Your Highness, I also recommend that the king be promoted back to the position of Minister of Household Affairs and wait for His Majesty's decree before inspecting the capital!"

Without waiting for Gao Guan's reaction, Zhang Bohai suddenly stood up and not only shared Zhu Zhanhe's worries, but also shared some responsibility for Gao Guan's incident.

In response, Gao Guan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, seeming to say that Zhang Bohai didn't have to do this.

With the two of them in such a situation, even though Zhu Zhanhe was deeply involved in the situation, he knew that things were not that simple.

Facing the two of them, if he agrees now, he will naturally be relieved of his responsibilities, but then he will not be who he is.

He walked towards the side hall with an ugly face, his steps were hurried and his voice was slightly tempered.

"I have my own thoughts on this matter. You all should step aside..."

At his instructions, everyone bowed in return and then left the Chunhe Hall with mixed emotions.

Wang Ji and Lu Yu walked out of the back of the Chunhe Palace without saying anything. They just bowed to Gao Guan and Zhang Bohai, who seemed extremely reluctant to return the salute.

Although they know that Wang Ji and Lu Yu have their own difficulties, who wants to be able to smile at someone who plots against them.

Wang Ji and Lu Yu also knew that they were in the wrong, and after bowing, they hurriedly left the Chunhe Hall.

Gao Guan and Zhang Bohai did not leave in a hurry, but looked at each other and walked to the city road of the East Palace.

"You don't actually have to stand up and speak for me. If you stand up, it will be difficult for His Highness."

"If Your Highness knows the consequences, I'm afraid I will be remembered if I don't stand up."

Gao Guan persuaded Zhang Bohai, but Zhang Bohai shook his head and retorted: "If I don't even want to speak for you, how can I make His Highness continue to trust me?"

"Besides, you and I are still too young. We only need to deal with people outside when entering the East Palace."

"But I don't think about it carefully. Everyone thinks about things from their own standpoints, and you and I are very different from Wang Ji and Lu Yu. How can they come to think about you and me?"

"Alas..." Gao Guan also sighed: "If Wen Qing were here, I'm afraid Shang Degong would have been interrupted by him before he even opened his mouth today."

"I'm afraid Wenqing also feels uncomfortable." Zhang Bohai said:
"It is a certainty that the king will reply to the Minister of Household Affairs, and Jiangnan officials are too deeply involved with the sixteen business gangs. If His Majesty wants to cause a big case, he must attack them."

"The imperial court's 50 million guan national debt is a test of the water. What is being tested is the degree of collusion between officials and businessmen."

"I have read the memorial from the Financial Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs. It was found that all the 10 million treasury bonds in Southern Zhili and Zhejiang were sold out in a single day."

"The Sixteenth Merchant Gang has been operating overseas for many years and has already become an organized private government. The fact that they can buy 10 million treasury bonds in such a large place in one go also shows that they can use tens of millions of guan at any time. "

"With such strength and organizational strength, it would be okay if they were placed in Kunlun Continent, but they not only want to make money from the sea in Kunlun Continent, but also make money from the court in Central Continent."

"This approach has already involved His Majesty's rebellion. Therefore, this major case will inevitably arise, and the Jiangnan Sixteenth Business Gang will become a thing of the past."

"At that time, how can Wenqing, who is in Nanjing, take care of himself?"

Zhang Bohai talked about the predicament Jianghuai was facing now, and Gao Guan's brows also gathered sadness.

"There have been several major cases in the imperial court, but these people never have a long memory. The national debt is only a problem that has surfaced. How many problems are there secretly? Others don't know, don't they themselves know?"

"There are so many problems, and they dare to bring them to the surface. This is really..."

Gao Guan didn't know whether to call these people smart or stupid, but Zhang Bohai shook his head and said:

"If these merchants say they have talent, it is indeed true, but their talent is at best that of a prefecture or a county."

"Without a source of information, no matter how powerful and talented they are, they can't save their lives."

"If you want to blame, it's because they are so rich that they don't know how to restrain themselves, don't know how to give back, and don't know how to be humble and low-key."

"The national debt was originally used by His Majesty to deal with corrupt officials in the future, but they want to stand up and grab a piece of the pie, and they have also revealed that they can mobilize tens of millions of dollars at any time, and they can collude with local banks and officials to purchase all national debt."

"If they act like this and their homes are not confiscated, who can have their homes confiscated?"

Zhang Bohai simplified the problem and Gao Guan nodded in agreement.

The two walked a few steps before Gao Guan continued: "Then Xu Shuo suggested that I be decentralized as an official. I also think this is a good thing."

"From Longchuan to now, I have never left you to control a government or a county by myself."

"Taking advantage of this opportunity, while I'm still young, I can decentralize a little bit of my work and return to the capital. Then I won't be plotted like this."

"Alas..." Zhang Bohai sighed and glanced at the dusk sky.

"The three of them entered the capital one after another, but I didn't expect that both you and Wenqing would leave, and I was the only one left in the East Palace."

"Why be so sad when we see you again." Gao Guan squinted his eyes and smiled. Seeing this, Zhang Bohai could only shake his head and continue walking forward with him.

While the two were walking side by side, a courtyard with four entrances and exits in the capital was also crowded with people.

Although the owner of the yard had expected a large number of guests, he obviously did not expect such a huge number.

"Without Duke Wei, how could we have climbed to such a high position?"

"That's right, Lord Jingwei should be clear about it!"

"Respect the Lord!"

In the main hall of the courtyard, hundreds of men dressed in silk and satin bowed and toasted to a man in his forties who was in charge of the main hall. Naturally, this man was the Duke in their mouth... Wang Hui.

Wang Hui sat in the main seat, with a calm expression and a faint smile on his lips.

The hundreds of officials in front of him were all above the fifth rank, and most of them were people who had received favor from the king back then.

Wang Hui used himself as a pawn to go to the capital. Although he lost his official position and was idle at home for four years, the more than 3,000 yamen officials who followed him south to the capital for inspection were all promoted afterwards.

Today, there are only about 400 officials in the capital above the fifth rank, but here there are as many as hundreds.

In addition, upon learning that Wang Hui had returned, many officials of the sixth and seventh grades also expressed their attachment.

If his reputation is big enough and his official position is high enough, he will take the blame and his subordinates will take the credit...

If such people cannot gather together the old team, it will be a big joke in the world.

"Most of these people serve in the General Affairs Department, the Imperial Procuratorate, the Sixth Ministry and the Fiveth Temple, and the Fifth Army's Military and Horse Department."

Sitting next to Wang Hui, as expected by Wang Ji and others, Zhang Mengcun joined Wang Hui after Wang Hui returned.

Although the position of Minister of the Ministry of Rites was cut off by Yang Shiqi, Zhang Mengcun got another opportunity, that is, the censor of the left capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, while the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate was Ji Shu from the New Deal faction.

Now Ji Shu is also sitting in the first place on the left side at the bottom, which shows his high status.

Even Ji Shu came to seek refuge with Wang Hui, which is enough to show Wang Hui's prestige within the New Deal faction.

Although Wang Hui brought down Yan and Li from the New Deal faction, many young and strong factions in the New Deal faction had long been used to seeing people who had no ability but liked to amass money and point fingers.

Yan and Li both fell together with the old sect of the past, and most of the newly rising young and strong sects achieved their current status because of their fall, so naturally no one would hate Wang Hui.

Of course, the prerequisite is that Wang Hui must safeguard the common interests of everyone. Otherwise, if the interests are damaged, they will not let it go easily even if Wang Hui is standing in front of them.

Wang Hui knew this very well, but he also looked down upon the New Deal faction.

At least for now, he simply looked down upon the benefits gained by the New Deal faction in the north.

Compared with the north, which has a shallow foundation, the rich south of the Yangtze River is more desirable, and it is also the money bag that the court needs.

"How many of the Five Armies' Soldiers are ours?"

"Three."

Wang Hui asked Zhang Mengcun, and the Military and Horse Division of the Fifth Army he mentioned was the institution created by Zhu Gaoxu to govern the Military and Horse Division after imitating the Governor's Office of the Sixth Army.

Today, the Military and Horse Division is responsible for urban defense and public security in more than 1,900 counties across the country. In addition, it is also responsible for the safety of railways across the country. With a number of 520,000, it seems to be a force that cannot be ignored.

Because of this, the court's administrative expenditures have also continued to increase with the increase in fiscal revenue.

Judging from the situation in the first few months of this year, the annual membership of the Ming Dynasty this year will probably reach about 64 million yuan.

But the administrative expenditure alone can reach 39 million guan, and the military expenditure is 16 million guan.

The total of the two has reached 55 million guan. Taking into account the 12 million guan spent on railways, water conservancy and other projects, it is exactly 67 million guan.

Of course, if the railway construction is stopped and the existing railway maintenance is maintained, the expenditure will be reduced to about 60 million yuan, and the court can accumulate 4 million yuan.

However, such a thing obviously would not happen during the Hongxi period.

It can be seen from the emperor's issuance of 50 million treasury bonds that in the next ten years, Ming Dynasty will still maintain the direction of large-scale infrastructure construction and use infrastructure to drive prosperity for the people along the way.

Since the major cases during the Hongxi period were all related to infrastructure, few officials dared to spend money and food on it. That's why Wang Hui felt that the New Deal faction in the north would not gain much benefit at all.

"Who are the New Deal students from the Southwest taking refuge now..."

Wang Hui just glanced at it and knew that the New Deal students in the southwest had not defected to his side.

"Jian Yi, Xu Shuo, and the one from the East Palace."

Zhang Mengcun explained in a low voice, and Wang nodded and said: "Your Majesty has told me that the direction of future infrastructure construction will gradually shift from the north to the south. As a result, it will be more difficult for the people below to accumulate credit." Doing business It depends on the direction of the wind, especially as an official.

When the imperial court continued to invest in and build railways in the north, the prefectures and counties that the northern railway passed through could use the imperial court's money to make political achievements to enrich their resumes.

But now that the imperial court is about to reduce its investment in the north, those officials who only know how to catch the wind but do not have the ability to be too tough will suffer.

Sure enough, as Wang Hui said these words, most of the officials in the hospital looked at each other with nervous expressions on their faces.

Most of them are just ordinary officials. The reason why they can be promoted is because they follow the east wind of the imperial court.

Now that the imperial court has calmed down, something may happen in the north. I am afraid that this is the deep meaning of the emperor's restoration.

In the north today, only Wang Hui can suppress the situation. Apart from him, neither Zhang Mengcun nor Ji Shu can.

"If this news leaks out, people below will definitely be panicked, and they will have to find a way to solve it."

Ji Shu's face was solemn, and Zhang Mengcun nodded but hesitated to speak.

Obviously, they didn't dare to say comforting words easily, and this could only be said by Wang Huihui.

Such behavior was undoubtedly a plot against Wang Hui, but Wang Hui knew it was a plot, but he didn't take it seriously.

If you are in a high position and push everything to the people below you, then over time, the people below you will become alienated from you.

Only when you can sit firmly and bear the burden can you be united.

Wang Hui picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Everyone stared at his actions, wondering whether he was silent or brewing.

After moistening his throat, Wang Hui slowly put down the teacup and then spoke:
"Just because the wind in the court doesn't blow, doesn't mean we can't fan ourselves. People can't sit under the scorching sun and burn themselves to death. Besides, His Majesty won't sit back and watch us die in the sun."

He separated the court and the emperor, which meant that this matter had to be done from the court's perspective, and the emperor was still on their side.

When this news was released, everyone's hearts, which were hanging in their throats, returned to where they should be.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Hui continued to speak: "Put long against short, not short against long."

"In recent years, officials in the north have become slack. They always do whatever the court orders them to do. They don't have any opinions at all, and they don't think about changes."

"If this continues, the north will really be dead."

Wang Hui told the truth about the comfort in the north. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than the fact that the imperial court has been investing in the north from the Hongwu period to the present. It has cultivated inertia in the people in the north for more than sixty years, especially in the Yongle and Hongxi years.

It was precisely because the emperor was keenly aware of this that he stopped the wind from the north and asked them to reflect on themselves and think of solutions.

"That's the case, but how can we change it?"

Zhang Mengcun took the initiative to ask, and everyone also looked at him.

In response, Wang Hui slowly said: "In my Ming Dynasty, every county has its own reality. As a parent official, the people below can't be ignorant of the reality of this county, right?"

"Mining, making cement, gold, silver and copper ingots, these are all achievements, why can't you do them?"

"There are so many iron ores in the north. If you smelt farm tools and sell them to the south, you will make a few pennies less, so don't you just sell them all?"

"You won't get rich by making a few more pennies, but you can seize the market by making a few pennies less."

"With the wages and costs in the north, there is no reason why we should lose to the south..."

Wang Hui's words pointed out one thing to everyone, that is, with the continuous construction of the northern railway, the transportation cost of materials in the north is far lower than that in the south.

With such transportation and mineral resources, as long as we make good use of them, we will not be troubled by things that have no merit.

"But some counties do not have gold, silver, copper and iron mines..."

Ji Shu hesitated to speak, but Wang Hui said calmly: "The population of a county has a certain number. Some counties here have no mines, and some counties there have insufficient people..."

"In this case, why not relax some road guidance policies to allow people to move around and focus on developing a few important cities?"

“Looking to the north, the only cities that can be considered important are Beijing, Qingzhou, Taiyuan, and Xi’an.”

"Are Jiuyuan County and Dingxiang County in Hetao, and Datong and Shuozhou in the north of Shanxi Province lacking minerals? What they lack is population, right?"

"And in the land west of Hexi, the dozen or so mining areas named by His Majesty alone are enough to exploit thousands of mines and solve the livelihood problems of hundreds of thousands of people."

"Now that the railway has been built, why can't the yamen come forward to communicate with the yamen in the south and transport these things to places where they are scarce and sell them?"

Wang Hui's words changed the collusion between officials and merchants in Jiangnan and changed the official position to merchants.

"This approach seems unlikely to be approved by His Majesty..."

Zhang Mengcunzhan looked forward and backward, but Wang Hui didn't take it seriously: "Your Majesty will visit the court when he returns in a few days, and I will personally report to him at that time."

"Whether things come true or not depends on that day, but if things come true, don't be afraid, just let go and do it!"

Although Wang Hui said this, he knew in his heart that the emperor would definitely support him in doing so.

The reason is very simple. Since Jiangnan has already surfaced a similar collusion between officials and businessmen during the Song Dynasty, it can only mean that secretly, this kind of thing has probably been commonplace for a long time.

Once this sign appears, no matter how much suppression is applied, those who have tasted and seen the benefits will always take this path again.

If the North does nothing, it will only be left behind.

Only when the North takes the initiative and reaches a sufficient scale can it continue to suppress the rising capital in the South, because the interests of the North and the imperial court, or in other words, the interests of the emperor are the same.

The overseas population facing the north is too small. Whether it is Japan, North Korea, or Yilipali in the west, the combined population of these countries is less than 20 million.

In comparison, the overseas volume that the south has access to is too large.

As overseas finance and economy gradually rise, the Pan-Jiangnan region will become stronger and stronger, while the north can only rely on the transfer of money and grain from the court to keep up with the south.

Once the economy and politics are dominated by Jiangnan, the north, whose economy and politics are inferior to the south, will have no choice but to launch a hot war as Jiangnan presses harder and harder.

It was precisely because he thought about this clearly that Wang Hui dared to say that he would take the initiative to take responsibility.

Regarding his actions, everyone in the courtyard lowered their heads in shame.

"Okay, it's getting late. Let's leave early."

The king came back to serve tea to see off the guests. Everyone bowed and saluted, and then lined up in an orderly manner and walked out of the courtyard of the Wang family.

When they all left, Sanyang, who had been sitting in a certain mansion waiting for news, also got the news that the New Deal party's gathering was over.

"Except for Jian Yi, Xu Shuo, Wang Ji and others, most New Deal officials have basically defected to Wang Hui."

"It seems that his power is greater now than before..."

Yang Rong spoke calmly, but Yang Shiqi squinted his eyes and thought about the problem without saying a word.

When Yang Pu saw this, he immediately said: "If that person doesn't kill him, we won't be able to kill him. We will only be harmed by him."

Yang Rong and Yang Pu looked at each other and could only sigh silently.

After all, in this era of family affairs, as long as the emperor has enough military merit to control the army, even if he does not have a money bag, the emperor can find a money bag.

With money bags and guns, the remaining political matters will be much simpler.

Originally, things could be reversed during Zhu Yunwen's time, but now it has been delayed until the Hongxi period.

However, judging from the current situation, although the prince is not very capable, he has people he trusts. This results in the people arranged by the three of them not to interfere at all in the power center of the East Palace.

They wanted to support others, but the only one they could support at the moment was Zhu Zhanqi, but everyone knew what happened to Zhu Zhanqi in Jiaozhi.

It is better to support Zhu Zhanhe than to support him to come to power. At least Zhu Zhanhe's murderous intention is not that strong.

"What a great saint..."

Yang Shiqi mentioned the current great-grandson, which made Yang Rong and Yang Pu look even more ugly.

It would be good if it lasted until Zhu Zhanhe was over, but now Zhu Qiyue, Zhu Zhanhe's eldest son, is not an easy master to fool.

If they do this, they may not be able to get rid of the current situation until they die.

"The things in the south of the Yangtze River should be settled as soon as possible. Only by abandoning the east of Jiangsu and the west of Zhejiang can we gain peace in Jiangnan."

Yang Shiqi suddenly spoke and added at the same time:
"In addition, the old port and Guangdong side also need to be arranged in advance."

“Although it’s not obvious right now, in the future these places may be a priority.”

"Nanyang Chengxuan Chief Secretary must have enough talents..."

"Okay!" Seeing what Yang Shiqi said, Yang Rong nodded in agreement, but Yang Pu said: "Where is the king going?"

Yang Pu did not have a firm attitude, so he could not make the decision to fight to the death with Wang Hui's faction, but he did not want Wang Hui to change his current New Deal faction.

Although he didn't know what Wang Hui said to the officials of the New Deal faction tonight, if the New Deal faction continued to rely on the court like this, the north would only become weaker and weaker.

After all, the only enemies of the imperial court are the west and the south. Although the north can train some generals in the northwest, the opportunities in the northwest are definitely not as many as in the southwest.

When it comes to training generals, they have even greater advantages.

"He wants to change, but he doesn't think about it. Can this kind of thing be changed easily?"

Yang Rong laughed at Wang Hui's actions, and Yang Shiqi was not optimistic about it either.

He got up and walked to the yard. Looking at the rising moon, he couldn't help but shook his head and said:

"This wind will eventually blow to the south..."

(End of this chapter)