Idle courtiers

Chapter 245 The Battle for Power in the Weapons Bureau
Hearing that the young official in front of him reported his family name, Zhou Nan was startled.

It turned out that this person was the future concubine Li Gui of the Longqing Dynasty, the elder brother of the Empress Dowager Li of the Wanli Dynasty, and Li Gao, the son of Li Wei.

The last time Gyeonggi Qingzhang hid the imperial property, Zhou Nan and Li Wei had two fierce conflicts, and they even fought to the death to escape successfully in the second time.I didn't expect to work with Li Gao this time, this is the narrow road of Yuanjia!

Seeing that Li Gao in front of him didn't have the respect that his subordinates had when they met their superiors, Zhou Nan knew that this person was not kind.

Although Zhou Nan is now seeking refuge with Xu Jie, he is forced to become a member of a group of veterans who are about to decline, but from the bottom of his heart, he still does not want to offend the royal family.

Pretending not to see Li Gaokuang's disrespectful appearance, he smiled and said, "So it's Mr. Li. Speaking of which, I and your cousin Zhixian Zhan can be regarded as good friends. We are all family members. I can't think of someone who will replace Deputy Envoy Zhang." It turned out to be you, fate, fate!"

"You said yes, Zhan Tong, he mentioned you. I heard that you used to be an official under my cousin, and I have admired you for a long time." Li Gao said with sarcasm: "Take an official as a pedestrian, my lord But I am the only one. Not only Zhan Tong, but even my father once mentioned Mr. Zhou in front of me. Now we are colleagues again, isn't it fate?"

Zhou Nan still smiled and said: "If it is said that I am the only one in this dynasty as an official, and Li Fushi is an official of the court because of his relatives, isn't it the same?"

The Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited foreign relatives from participating in politics in view of the fact that the two forces of the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty jointly ruled the world.
Zhou Nan's words were already an attack on Li Gao.

Li Gao's complexion changed, and he couldn't help explaining: "His Royal Highness King Yu is just a prince now, neither enthroned nor crown prince, why did my Li family's relatives say that it's not okay to be a deputy envoy of the Ninth Rank Military Weapons Bureau? "

"Oh, that's right." Zhou Nan pretended to be suddenly enlightened, and patted his forehead: "So, Mr. Li, the deputy envoy, can do it too, and it's not against the rules."

After all, he sat down on a chair next to him and spread his palms: "Bring it."

Li Gao: "What did you bring?"

Zhou Nan shouted: "Master Li is here today. What about the official certificate and the official certificate?" You say you are the new deputy envoy Li Gao, so show me the documents to prove it.

Unknowingly, the two had passed a move without a trace.

What Zhou Nan said just now meant to remind Li Gao that if you, Mr. Li, are relatives, I am just a small passerby, so naturally I should be polite to you.But if you admit that you are a foreign relative, you cannot be an official.

If you don't admit it, fine, you are now my subordinate.Since you are a subordinate, you have to understand the rules and abide by the system.

Report first.

Li Gao had no choice but to stand up and hand over a diploma.

Zhou Nan pretended to look through it for a long time, and then slowly introduced to him the functions and work arrangements of the Military Weapons Bureau: "First of all, let me say two things...the first point... this, this... oh... …kindness……"

"The second point... this, this..."

"Okay, I'm done with my words. I'll add two more points at the end. The first point..." I learned a lot from Mr. Sun's way of speaking in Jingchashi.

Poor Li Gao accidentally touched Zhou Nan, and just stood in front of Zhou Nan for a long time, his legs were weak.

When he came to take up the post today, he intended to use the brand of the palace to give Zhou Nan a blow, a blow to the top, and grab the power of the Weapons Bureau.But if the situation in front of him falls into the eyes of the book office and soldiers outside, it seems that he is listening to the superior's admonition respectfully.

Lost momentum, how to establish prestige in the future?

After the training, Zhou Nan returned the dispatch form and official photo to Li Gao with a smile, and waved his hand: "Master Li arrived on the first day today, the so-called ignorance is not a crime, and I let the more than 20 wives who caused troubles be released privately." Don't pursue it. Since you and I are colleagues, we should work together in harmony in the future, and don't lose the court's grace, let's go down!"

Li Gao was scolded by him for a long time, but he couldn't speak from the beginning to the end, and he was extremely angry.He took the diploma with a livid face, and walked out of the court with his head held high.

As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly remembered that this was his office, and it was Zhou Nan who should leave.

"What a treacherous villain, we can't finish this matter." Li Gao's eyes flashed with hatred: "We'll see!"

Seeing Li Gao's trembling back with anger, Zhou Nan sneered in his heart: A dude in his twenties is also worthy of fighting me. Do you know how the agency works?Labor and management have been rolling around for a year anyway, what kind of people they haven't met, what kind of things they haven't experienced.It's too easy to pack you up, pull you into my familiar territory, and knock you down with a wealth of experience.

He had nothing to worry about. On the first day he took office, he ate two sets of flower wine and received 50 taels of silver. Our Elder Zhou was also tired.Seeing that it was already dark, it was impossible to go back to the city at this time, so I went directly to Hou Ya to sleep.

I slept soundly this time, and didn't get up until the kitchen came to invite the old man to lunch.

Looking at the snowflakes floating in the sky, Zhou Nan stretched his waist: "Whoever realizes the big dream first, I know it all my life. The man has enough hibernation, and the sun is late outside the window."

It's cool to be the leader of the unit, and you can wake up whenever you want to sleep, unlike the hard work of clocking in every day in the pedestrian department.

After lunch, returning to the warm office, Zhou Nan remembered that he had been busy all day yesterday and hadn’t written a composition yet. When he saw Mr. Wang Shizhen next time, it would be difficult to explain, so he raised his spirits and wrote an article "Journey to Baigezhuang" with the four treasures of the study. .

As soon as I finished writing, I was about to take advantage of the excellent state to write an article "On Loyalty and Traitor" based on Li Gao, so Guo Shuban ran over, put his head in front of him, and said in a low voice: "Pedestrian, I have already checked Fangshan Le Why did the wives sent by Juren make trouble, and why did Li Gao let them all go?"

Lao Guo was still bald, and the snowflakes on top of his head were steamed by the heat in the room, and fell on Zhou Nan's article tick-tock.

Master Zhou was very disgusted, and moved the manuscript away: "How do you say it?"

He couldn't help worrying about Lao Guo, the vice envoy Guo didn't even wear a hat in cold weather, isn't he afraid of getting chilblains in his heart?

Deputy Envoy Guo: "This morning, my subordinates were working at the ordnance factory. I asked the craftsmen and found out that Le Juren's mine has been sold. Guess who bought the mine?"

Zhou Nan's heart moved: "Isn't it Li Gao?"

Deputy Envoy Guo: "Pedestrians really guessed right. Li Gao came to fill the vacancy of the ambassador of the Military Weapons Bureau. The palace also greeted him, and the officials also nodded, but suddenly on the road, you, the old man, appeared. This Cheng Yaojin."

"My lord, your official position was granted by Xu Ge, and the officials did not dare to disobey, so they had to let Li Gao be the deputy envoy. Your lord, you have robbed him of his official position, and this enmity will be settled."

"Before Li Gao became an official in the Military Weapons Bureau, he bought the mine in Fangshan Lejuren in advance. He wanted to rely on the supply of pig iron to grow his hair. The old master arrested his wife as soon as he came. Isn't this a way of breaking people's wealth? Making money is like killing one's parents, and the enmity is deepened."

Zhou Nan: "I have a deep enmity with the Li family, and there is no such thing. No wonder Li Gao dared to let those wives go, it turned out to be his people!"

Deputy Envoy Guo sighed: "The palace is not easy to mess with. This man surnamed Li is a scumbag. He is in charge of the soldiers. He will cause headaches in the future. If I had known this before, my subordinates would have taken over the work of internal affairs and public security." .”

Zhou Nan said disdainfully: "I am his deputy, and the soldiers under him are not my master's. Could it be that Li Gao has turned the world upside down? You are in charge of the military manufacturing, and you are stuck on his neck. I am not afraid that the surnamed Li will not bow his head." .”

Deputy Envoy Guo understood: "This subordinate understands."

While talking, there was a drumbeat outside.

The Ordnance Bureau maintains about a hundred soldiers, and is responsible for local security and cracking down on smuggling. It can be regarded as a quasi-armed force.If there is a dispute among the people in the town, the people will beat drums and complain.

If it can be dealt with, the Ordnance Bureau will deal with it by itself.If the case is serious, the statement will be recorded and handed over to Daxing County.

It can be regarded as the Ming Dynasty version of enterprises running society.

Hearing the sound of the drum, Zhou Nan was startled, maybe something happened.

He hurriedly ran out with Deputy Envoy Guo, and saw that all the soldiers had gathered in the big courtyard.Li Gao stood there arrogantly, and asked the soldiers to report one by one.

Zhou Nan asked suspiciously: "Deputy Li, what are you doing?"

Li Gao said solemnly: "It is the duty of the lower officials to train soldiers and maintain law and order." After finishing speaking, he shouted: "Let's go."

Then, under the guard of a soldier, he climbed up a howling donkey with difficulty, and left in a majestic manner.

According to the system of the imperial court, the [-] soldiers in the Military Weapons Bureau belonged to the government servants Xiangyong, the reserve force of the Ming Dynasty, and organized drills every year during the slack season.In the future, if something happens to the country, it will come as soon as it can be recruited. If it comes, it can be fought, and whether it can be won or not can be said.

A hundred soldiers came out in full force, and the yamen was instantly quiet.

Guo Shuban scratched his head: "What is Li Gao doing, tossing."

Zhou Nan suddenly felt uneasy, and said in a low voice: "Lao Guo, be more careful, Li Gao is not an idiot."

Later, Zhou Nan heard people say that Li Gao led his soldiers in formation all afternoon in the field, and they were like long snakes, fish scales and geese.It is estimated that Li Gao studied in a surprise attack for a few days, but those poor soldiers can usually bully ordinary people during the day, but they are not at all in terms of their military quality.The team walked in a mess, making it as lively as going to a market.

Li Gao was furious, whipped more than [-] disobedient soldiers in one breath, and then returned with his exhausted troops.

In the evening, Qian Xingjian sent someone to ask Zhou Xingren when he would be able to make up all the criminals that Zhou Xingren promised.

Zhou Nan didn't think of a good solution, so he had to tell the visitor that you go back to your house for inspection, isn't there still two days left, what's the hurry?
The next day, early in the morning, the horn sounded.

Zhou Nan was woken up and came out to take a look, only to see more than 100 soldiers sweeping the floor with brooms, cleaning the windows with rags, and even beating the dead leaves on the trees in the courtyard with bamboo poles.

Li Gao was standing in the courtyard with his hips akimbo, shouting loudly.

Zhou Nan, "What is Master Li doing?"

Li Gao: "Newcomers should have a new look. I know these people are used to living a good life in the past. They are all gentle and martial. From now on, you have to cheer me up. My lord wants to rule the government with military law. Just like keeping dogs, you can't let them idle for a moment. Otherwise, you will all become stupid pigs."

Hearing the word "raising soldiers", Zhou Nan's eyelids twitched.

At this time, suddenly, Li Gao stared, pointed at the soldier who was sweeping the snow and cursed: "Why did you sweep the ground, why is there still snow. Come, hit me."

As he spoke, he squinted at Zhou Nan again.

Immediately, two soldiers like wolves and tigers rushed over, held down the sweeper and beat him with sticks until he cried for his father and mother.

This is purely for my master, Zhou Nan shouted: "Stop it, it's just sweeping snow, how can you hit someone?"

Hearing Zhou Nan's order, the two hands-on soldiers paused and looked at Li Gao timidly.

Seeing that Li Gao didn't express anything, he continued to exert force.

Li Gao was obviously satisfied with their performance, his face softened, and he said leisurely: "Forget it, let's stop, just give this ignorant bastard a lesson."

"Yes, sir." The two executioners said.

The man whose buttocks were covered with blood hurriedly kowtowed and cried, "Thank you, Mr. Li, thank you, Mr. Li!"

The soldiers who were busy in the yard all looked shocked.

Li Gao looked at Zhou Nan triumphantly: "Master Zhou, it's cold outside, take care of yourself." You should go back to the house and rest!

Zhou Nan was so angry that his hands trembled slightly, and he suppressed the anger in his heart for a long time when he returned to the house, and said to Deputy Envoy Guo next to him: "Old Guo, Li Gao played Xiliuying for my lord! "

The man surnamed Li had only been in the Weapons Bureau for two days, and he couldn't wait to grab the shift and seize power.

In the first round of the battle for power between the chief and deputy ambassadors of the Military Weapons Bureau, Zhou Xingren lost a little, and his ideas were quite unreasonable.

The so-called Xiliuying refers to an allusion from the time of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty.

It is said that during the period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu invaded China.The Han Dynasty organized an army to resist the aggression, with Zhou Yafu as the general and stationed in Xiliu.

Emperor Wen personally went to the barracks to comfort the army.When they arrived at the barracks of Bashang and Thorny Gate, they rushed straight in.When I arrived at the Xiliu barracks, I saw that the officers and men were all wearing armor, holding sharp weapons, bows and arrows, the bows were drawn to the full moon, and they were heavily guarded.

The emperor's advance guard arrived in front of the camp and was not allowed to enter.The first guard said: "The emperor is about to arrive." The general who guards the barracks replied: "The general has an order: the army only obeys the order of the general, and does not obey the order of the emperor."

After a while, the emperor arrived and refused to let him enter the barracks.

So Emperor Wen sent an envoy to enter the camp with a talisman: "I want to enter the camp to comfort the army." Zhou Yafu then sent an order to open the gate of the barracks.

It can be seen from this that Zhou Yafu governed the army strictly, and the soldiers only had military orders in their eyes, but no emperor.

Li Gao did this as soon as he arrived at the Military Weapons Bureau. He used severe punishments and strict laws to restrain the soldiers, and usually long hours of boring training and hard labor, so that the soldiers developed the conditioned reflex to obey orders.In this way, everyone is afraid of Deputy Envoy Li, and no one takes Zhou Xingren seriously anymore.

They are all scholars, so Deputy Envoy Guo naturally knows the allusion of Xiliuying.Unconsciously, he was dumbfounded: "Pedestrian, what should we do about this matter?" He is a relative of the palace, and he is in charge of more than 100 soldiers who are prohibited by orders. If he really fights with Master Zhou, he has a good chance of winning.

"What are you afraid of, there will be a solution, don't mess up your position." Zhou Nan snorted.

　PS: To answer some readers' question about the low price of uncle Guo who came to be a petty official.First, this is a pit, so I won't spoil it for the time being.Second, it was the Longqing Dynasty's business for Li Gao to be honored, and he is just a commoner now.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)