Smuggling Daming

The conversation between Zhou Zhong and Wang Shouren was very pleasant. Both of them had their own views on the construction of the military academy. Everything was said, and soon a general idea of ​​the military academy was formed.

In the evening, Zhou Zhong left Wang Shouren for dinner, and then personally sent him away from the Governor's Mansion.But just as Wang Shouren was being sent away, Zhou Zhong returned to his study, only to find that the elderly Jiao Fang was sitting on a chair waiting for him.Zhou Zhong was not surprised by Jiao Fang's arrival. He had even heard the report from his subordinates before. Jiao Fang had already arrived when Wang Shouren arrived, and when Zhou Zhong was talking with Wang Shouren, Jiao Fang was standing there Listen to their conversation outside the window.

"Congratulations, my lord, for getting another powerful assistant. With Wang Shouren's help, my lord's vision for me, Daming, will be realized more easily!" Jiao Fang sat on a chair and cupped her hands when she saw Zhou Zhong coming in. He was old. , so you don't need to care about some common etiquette, even in front of the emperor, no one will blame you for it.

I saw Zhou Zhongjin went to the study and found a place to sit down at random, and then smiled and said: "Brother Bo'an is indeed a very smart person, and he is also a very good assistant, but he is still a bit too young. His previous experience is also a bit lacking, if Mr. Jiao Ge has time in the future, you can give him some advice, although he is from the south, but for the future of Daming, Mr. Jiao Ge doesn’t have to make things difficult for him!”

Hearing Zhou Zhong's words, Jiao Fang chuckled.Then he said sadly: "My lord really underestimates old people. Although I don't like southerners, I can clearly distinguish the general trend. My lord's plan for the future of Ming Dynasty is too huge. It is so huge that one or two people can't complete it." It needs a group of talented people to work hard for it. Although the old man is willing to join your team, I am too old, so I can only help you find some available talents. This Wang Shouren has a calm personality , but he is quick-witted and witty, especially his achievements in Confucianism, even the old man is willing to lose. Even if he searches the entire Ming Dynasty, he may not be able to find a few. Now this person can I will only be happy if you sincerely help Sir, and I will support you more in the future, so please rest assured, Sir.”

The reason why Jiao Fang was a little sad was not because Zhou Zhong told him not to embarrass Wang Shouren's words, but because he was feeling sad for his age.After all, he is 80 years old, although he is still in good spirits.But God knows where he will close his eyes and never wake up again, so although he knows that Zhou Zhong has a profound influence on Daming's layout, and at the same time needs many people to participate, but he has no time.

Zhou Zhong also understood Jiao Fang's thoughts very well. He also sighed at the moment, and then comforted him with a forced smile: "You don't have to worry, Mr. Jiao Ge. Although you are old, you are still growing strong. It is Zhou who can't do it now. The most important assistant I am missing, I believe that with your help, the layout of Nanyang can be completed in the shortest possible time. In this way, when future history books write this period of history, your credit will not be forgotten anyway. In addition, Huang Brother Zhong is also a talent for a while, and he has done a great job in Nanyang, and he will definitely inherit the old man's ambition in the future and help me complete the future work!"

Jiao Fang's son, Jiao Huangzhong, is also a talent. Because of Liu Jin's incident, he gave up his position as servant and went back to his hometown with his father. However, he took the initiative to ask to go to Nanyang for some experience. Now he is serving as the magistrate of a county under the rule of Jiugang.

Hearing Zhou Zhong mention her most proud son, Jiao Fang also turned her worries into joy, and stopped talking about business affairs now, but talked about the interesting things about Nanyang mentioned in the letter from her son Jiao Huangzhong to him, for example, there was no need to go there at noon. Light the fire, put an iron pan under the sun, and beat the eggs into it to cook them. In addition, elephants are used to plow the fields, etc. Anyway, they are some customs of Nanyang. These are very interesting to Jiao Fang. He even expressed his desire to go to Nanyang for a while.

However, Zhou Zhong did not dare to agree with Jiao Fang's idea of ​​going to Nanyang. After all, Jiao Fang is too old, and his body's ability to adapt to the environment is also declining. Moreover, he is a northerner who can't stand the hot weather the most. Weather, Zhou Zhong reckoned that if Jiao Fang was brought to Nanyang, he would be seriously ill in a few days due to acclimatization, and even his old life might be lost in Nanyang.

In fact, Jiao Fang also knows that although her son’s letter to herself is easy, but given the climate in Nanyang, I am afraid he has suffered a lot. Therefore, although Jiao Fang yearns for Nanyang, she does not. Insist on going to Nanyang for a walk. After all, he is not Wang Shouren. The other party can transfer the land under the Governor's Mansion, but for him, this is an impossible task, so he just mentioned it and didn't say anything. Stick to Nanyang.

After talking about private matters, Zhou Zhong discussed with Jiao Fang about moving the government office to Songjiang. Jiao Fang also agreed with this matter. He had already seen that Zhang Cai's suggestion to move the government office to Taiwan was another He had other intentions, that's why he didn't agree, and he, like Wang Shouren, felt that the governor's mansion could not leave the Daming coast, otherwise it would definitely attract suspicion from the court. As for the Songjiang mansion, he felt the same as Zhou Zhong. There's a lot going on in that place.

As for the matter of the military academy, an old fox like Jiao Fang naturally sees through it at a glance, and he even sees it farther than Wang Shouren.However, not only did he not object, but he also supported Zhou Zhong to do it boldly. In particular, he must ask His Majesty the emperor to be the principal of the military academy, so that everyone can stop talking. If necessary, he can even let go of his old face. , Pulled up a group of northern officials to build momentum for the military academy.

For Jiao Fang's strong support for the military academy, Zhou Zhong couldn't figure it out at first, but when he saw the hatred on Jiao Fang's face, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind, and he finally understood the reason why Jiao Fang did so. In fact, to put it bluntly, it is still a dispute between the North and the South in the officialdom.

As mentioned before, there has been a long history of disputes between officials from the north and the south in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, and generally speaking, officials from the south have always had the upper hand. And Li Dongyang, but among the three, only Liu Jian is from the north, while Xie Qian and Li Dongyang are both from the south, and this is already a good situation for northern officials.

It is precisely because of this that officials of northern origin are actually at a disadvantage in officialdom, especially southern officials are not only more numerous than them, but most of them are higher in position, so northern officials are often criticized by southern officials in officialdom. Bullying, no matter what kind of good things happen, it is not their turn. For example, Jiao Fang was bullied by many superiors who were born in the south when he was young, which caused him to have a very hostile attitude towards southern officials.

Later, Jiao Fang joined hands with Liu Jin, who is also from the north, and won the power in the court in one fell swoop. Because of his position, he suppressed officials in the south, and finally vented his anger on the officials in the north. Don't look at Jiao Fang's reputation in the officialdom, but it is mainly because the officials in the south slandered him. Among the officials in the north, Jiao Fang is known as a highly respected one.

But it is a pity that it didn't take long for the northern officials represented by Jiao Fang to stand up. With the conflict between Jiao Fang and Liu Jin, Jiao Fang had to retire and return home. The southerner Li Dongyang took power again. The hall has completely become a hall for southern officials. Now many northern officials who followed Jiao Fang have been liquidated. The southern officials in the court occupy various important positions, and the few remaining northern officials can only guard some Qingshui yamen. There is nothing to do at all. After this battle, the current northern officials have fallen to the bottom of the officialdom.

What's even worse is that the current chief minister of the cabinet, Li Dongyang, has already selected Yang Tinghe, who is also from the south, as the successor of the chief minister. The chief minister of the cabinet is all southern officials, so for northern officials, there is no hope at all.

After figuring out the current situation in the officialdom, coupled with Jiao Fang's understanding of this person, Zhou Zhong can easily guess the reason why he supports the military academy. It is nothing more than Jiao Fang seeing that the officialdom is dominated by southern officials. , This made him feel aggrieved. Although he was re-elected as an official in the Governor's Mansion, it was almost impossible for him to return to the power center of Daming.

Jiao Fang's personality is very good in other aspects, and he behaves very rationally, but as soon as it comes to the dispute between the North and the South, he will become very extreme. For example, now the southerners hold the power in the court, and in the future In a few decades, the northern officials may not be able to stand up, so in Jiao Fang's view, since the northern officials like herself cannot control the power of the court, then no one can control it alone. It is better to let the military academy grow up, and then generals They rose again and competed for power with the civil servants again. Maybe even in this kind of competition, northern officials could benefit from it.

It is also because of the mentality that she can’t get it, and she will never make it easier for the other party. That’s why Jiao Fang actively supports Zhou Zhong’s military academy construction. Although he is old, he is still so obsessed with the dispute between the North and the South in the officialdom. It seems that if he returns to the capital publicly in the future, he must pay attention to this point. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)