Chapter 1043
King Jin Accelerates Zhang Jing
Chapter 1043: Prince Jin returns to Beijing at an accelerated pace
"Report, Lord Marquis, the Yangping defenders have already moved south. Following your orders, they have given up Shizhou and Runan City. General Hu has already completed the handover and is leading his troops to catch up."
On the official road west of Huaizhou City,
Zhang Jinyu rode on his horse, looking at the barren wilderness stretching for thousands of miles. In the days when he first arrived, there was still some greenery, as if it had rained. Now, more than half a month has passed, and not a drop of rain has fallen. The fertile fields on both sides of the official road have long been dry and barren, like cracks in the ground, with huge cracks flashing like wrinkles on an old man's face.
Not to mention growing crops, even drought-resistant trees were roasted.
"My Lord, should we go to the county city first, or go straight to Daliang City?"
Seeing that the Marquis did not speak, Ning Bian asked softly behind him, which brought Zhang Jinyu back to his senses.
"Send someone to the county city to inform Song Yutian to lead his troops to escort the gold and silver northward to join the main army. After that, there is no need to say anything more. Divide the silver among the people. The rest will be given to the commanders of each camp. Give the pension silver to each family. If anyone reaches out for it, don't blame me for not being quick with my knife."
Since we have promised the soldiers, we cannot bring these things back to the capital to distribute them. If the civil officials find out, we will have to wonder whether we can keep the money.
"Yes, Lord, this matter has already been explained to General Song, and the silver looted in Runan City has already been distributed. The rest of the departments are being recalculated and the compensation will be paid. Generals, you also know the importance."
Ning Bian followed in front of him and said vaguely that the places where the money was looted were crowded and there were some things that could not be said openly.
Zhang Jinyu also knew the reason.
"Okay, it's good that you know. Remember, it's not the lack of wealth that's worrying, but the inequality of the distribution of wealth. You lead the troops here, and I'll go back and take a nap first."
After saying that, he pulled the reins, approached the frame of Prince Jin's carriage, turned over and jumped onto the carriage, lifted the curtain and got in. At this time, inside the carriage, Prince Jin had already swept away his fatigue, and his face was full of excitement. There were many memorials in front of him, and he was holding one and reading it, but he didn't know who wrote it.
As soon as he sat down, Yue'er served him tea and handed it to him. Zhang Jinyu reached out to take it and took a sip, but the pastries were gone long ago. There were only some dried fruits on the square table, which was enough for snacks.
After eating two dried fruits, I savoured my appetite and asked,
"Where did Your Highness get this memorial that you are reading so carefully?"
"My Lord, please take a look. These memorials are from the prefects and associate prefects of several prefectural offices in Yangping, as well as people from several prefectural offices in Runan City. They are nothing but flattering words. There is also one written by Wei Xiangping, saying that Runan City is of great importance and must be saved. With Runan as a base, Xihe County can be kept safe. It is incoherent and I don't know what it is talking about."
King Zhou Ding of Jin did not attack without reason. The content of this memorial was written suddenly and cleverly. Runan City was taken over by the remnants of Wei Xiangping's troops, and so was Yangping. Only a few adults in Shizhou City died for their country, and the city was also taken over by the soldiers of Wei Taishou. This move was somewhat intriguing.
Zhang Jinyu clapped his hands twice, with a playful look in his eyes. Wei Xiangping from Runan had long been known to everyone. He claimed to fight to the death, but he kept retreating. How could he be defeated by the governor? He must have something to ask for if he could come to submit a memorial.
After taking the memorial, he skipped the previous nonsense and wrote at the end, "I think that Runan is an important town connecting the north and the south, and it is especially important to use it as a basis to pacify Xihe County. The south of Beijing was desolate due to cholera. If Runan is in ruins and Xihe County is pacified, another Jiangnan should be created. This is a century-long plan for the court. I hope Your Highness will return to Beijing and follow the emperor's instructions with utmost caution."
It seems that this old man is anxious. Runan City is in ruins. The people have fled. The gold and silver have been looted by the White Lotus Sect and the Beijing Army for countless times, leaving an empty city. How can it be rebuilt?
Zhang Jinyu lost interest instantly and threw the letter on the table.
"Your Highness, it's just empty talk. Scholars are ruining the country. This Wei Xiangping has been defeated again and again, losing Runan, Shizhou, and Yangping. But in his words, I feel that this man has been defeated again and again, and has become defeated again and again. The order is reversed, and the connotation will change. Runan is an important town, but it is in ruins. If the court has money, it can still be said. But in my opinion, it is better to use Shizhou as the boundary and defend Xihe County. The area south of Beijing can be left behind by the government troops to guard it."
Although Zhang Jinyu's words were a bit unpleasant to hear, it was the fact. Giving up one city was the same as giving up two cities. What difference did it make if there was one more or one less?
But the more reasonable his words were, the more hesitant King Zhou Ding of Jin became. Runan City is in an important location, connecting the east, west, south and north. Although it is okay to leave only soldiers to garrison there, Wei Xiangping alone is a trouble. It seems that there are members of the Wei family in the harem.
"Your Majesty's words make sense, but the advice of the Wei governor may also be reasonable. If the Wei governor had not blocked the way, Xihe County would not have fallen and the army would not have surrounded it. If Runan City was just treated as an empty city and garrisoned, Wei Xiangping would have made a fuss."
This is the most difficult thing to deal with. This person is an old minister. When he doesn't even want to save face, I think the emperor can do nothing about it. Zhang Jinyu spit at this rhetoric.
"Your Highness is still soft-hearted. In this case, let's see who in the court will pay for the money. The restoration of Runan City will cost at least three times the money to rebuild Shizhou City. Moreover, although there are many people in the interior of the country, unless they are refugees, how many people are willing to leave their homes? If something happens in the south of the capital, the court's efforts will not be in vain. The Shanyue Clan is not honest."
This is the key point. The leaders of the two sects have not been eliminated, and the Mountain Clan is ambitious. If they are mixed together, how could they not have ideas?
"Forget it, let's leave this matter to the cabinet for discussion. The Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court still has some silver in reserve, which cannot be touched. If there is any extra surplus, we can still give it a try."
The remaining memorials were all written in similar styles and there was no point in reading them. I closed them and, like the marquis, threw them on the square table.
Zhang Jinyu was curious and opened the small pile of memorials. It can be said that almost all the officials who could be found had written memorials. As for the meaning, it was nothing more than to save the official hat on his head, which was human nature. But what was a little strange was why the King of Beijing and the King of Dongping, and even the King of Wei and the King of Chu, did not leave a letter.
"Your Highness, how are the King of Wei and the King of Chu doing?"
As if the question was asked suddenly, Jin Wang Zhou Ding was obviously stunned, and then answered calmly,
"Of course we have to go back to the capital. The King of Chu followed the King of Dongping and set out north by water, while the King of Wei took the official road of Xihe County and returned to the capital via Jinzhou and Fuling County. All in all, it seems that our army is the last to return to the capital."
When asked by the Marquis, after explaining it, I still felt that something was wrong, but I couldn't tell what the problem was.
Zhang Jinyu touched his chin. It seemed that the three princes were all returning along the original route. Logically speaking, the fastest way was to take the water route, but it was a detour. Prince Beijing Shui Rong could go through the valley, which was theoretically faster. Only his own army was the slowest and had to take a detour through Daliang City. This was not good for Prince Jin. It was said that whoever entered the capital first could gain great prestige and get first place. Who would remember the rankings later?
Thinking of this, everything became clear. It seems that the road to winning the throne was planned by His Majesty from the beginning. Although he could not say it explicitly, no one is a fool. It turns out that the two princes also know that with the support of the two princes, the military power obtained may be kept. The place where they are located is Jingnan and Xihe County. But if he intervenes in it, the circle of the four kings and eight dukes is a bit rotten, but if he leaves, it will not work either.
Who can give up the rich land of Central Plains? The three-legged tripod cannot enter. Even the border army system of the Duke's Mansion cannot move at all. It can be seen that this trap was carefully designed by His Majesty.
"Your Highness, I heard that the elite troops under the Beijing Palace are the Xiandeng Army. No one can retreat in every battle. They are known to be invincible. I think the reason why they are named Xiandeng is that they are one step faster than others. Although it is only one step, the difference is huge. Going back to the capital may seem ordinary, but the first to ascend may not be without a gap, so."
Zhang Jinyu stared at His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, not knowing whether he understood or not.
"So, the Marquis thinks that the little prince should be the first to return to the capital, but how far is this?"
The King of Jin understood a little bit, but also didn't understand a little bit. Even if he wanted to go back first, they were the farthest away, so they could never catch up with him.
"Ride as fast as you can, and we'll be back in the capital in three days at most."
In ancient times, horses were all about speed. As long as the horse kept running, its speed would never be slow. Zhou Ding hesitated for a moment and immediately nodded in agreement.
"Everything is up to the Marquis. Daliang City is just ahead, so don't stop there."
"Okay, Your Highness, as long as you think it through, I will make the arrangements."
Now that the decision had been made, there was no time to delay. He lifted the curtain, walked out, and then shouted;
"Ningbian, gather all cavalry immediately and save the war horses. Send the 10,000 cavalry outside the Great Wall and all the imperial guards to the capital overnight. Rest the horses but not the men. Duan Kaiyuan will lead the army in the capital camp and then withdraw to the Anhu camp. Do not slack off."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Following Zhang Jinyu's order, the front army was mobilized, and a large number of horse hoof sounds were heard. Then, about half an hour later, thousands of horses were heard galloping. The front cavalry broke away from the main army and quickly headed north on the official road. They didn't care about the bumpy road. The carriage that the King of Jin was sitting in was also galloping. This departure left the father and son of the Lu family, who were eagerly waiting for Daliang City, on the top of the city wall. Seeing the army passing by, Lu Daiyuan looked pale and a little depressed. His two sons no longer had the arrogance they had before. Now that the foundation of Daliang City is still there, it is unknown when it can be restored.
Looking at the endless army outside the West City, I wonder if His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin will rest for a day in Daliang City.
As he was thinking this, a messenger came riding up from the city gate and shouted:
"General Lu, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin and the Marquis have already returned to the capital in advance. General Duan asked me to come here to pass on the message. Don't wait any longer."
After shouting these words, he rode away, leaving General Lu on the tower with a bleak face.
"Dad, how could this happen? Could it be that His Highness and the Marquis are not satisfied?"
The eldest son, Lu Congyun, had an ugly look on his face. If the King of Jin did not speak for their Lu family, who else would speak for them in the court?
"Yes, Dad,"
The second son wanted to speak again, but was stopped by Lu Daiyuan.
"It's useless to say more. We can only rely on God's will. I don't know whether His Royal Highness Prince Jin will speak for us, but Marquis Luo Yun will definitely speak up."
"Dad, why is this?"
Lu Congyun was a little puzzled. Could it be that his father and the Marquis had a personal relationship?
"You, I told you to keep an eye on the south, but you refused to listen. The Beijing Camp looted so much money in the county town, and all of it was divided up by Marquis Luo Yun. Even I got a share. You say, how could Marquis Luo Yun not ask for help? It's just that the Marquis came to the interior too late. If he had made friends with us twenty years earlier, he might have made some achievements."
Think about the Su family in southern Beijing.
Beijing,
The Prime Minister's residence,
In front of the government gate,
Chang Zuochang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, who was dressed in plain clothes, had already covered a package and got off the carriage. Seeing that there was no one around, he went directly through the side door.
"Is the eldest master here?"
The concierge saw that it was Master Chang, how could he be negligent, he nodded and replied;
"Master Chang, the eldest master is in the study in the west room. I will go and tell him."
"No, I'll go there myself,"
Minister Chang did not delay and walked straight to the study in the west room. When he entered the yard, he saw a few peach trees that were about to bloom. There was also a green asparagus fern planted in the corner of the south house, which had a unique charm. Unfortunately, Chang Zuo had something on his mind and did not pay attention to these.
It was not until I entered the study that I remembered to knock on the door.
"Ahem, young master, young master."
After calling out twice in a low voice, a sound came from the inner hall. After a moment, footsteps were heard, and the eldest son, Li Chaosheng, dressed in a Confucian robe, came out holding a fan. Seeing that it was Senior Brother Chang, he was somewhat surprised.
"Brother Chang, how come you have time to come here today? Come in."
After saying that, he dragged the person into the house and had him sit down in a small room in the flower hall. Then he clapped his hands, and a maid came to serve him tea.
After waiting for a while, seeing that Senior Brother Chang did not speak, Li Chaosheng realized that Senior Brother must have something important to discuss.
"All of you go down and close the door."
"Yes, eldest son."
The maids who were waiting on all sides bowed and left, closing the doors and windows, leaving only the two of them in the room. At this time, Chang Zuo put the package on the table and said;
"My Lord, from Jiangnan, we have received a memorial from the magistrate of Chunyang County suing the prefectural magistrate, as well as the details of how the Jiangnan Jiandu Censor and the inspector took over the case. I heard that the case of the dike destruction and flooding in Jiangnan has been concluded and sent to the capital. One of the copies went directly to the Yangxin Palace, while the other was submitted to the cabinet by the Prince of Dongping and the Prince of Chu. It was not even sealed. When it was sent to the cabinet, several cabinet elders did not move. I wonder if there is any news from my dear teacher."
This question and so many words made the eldest son Li Chaosheng sit up straight and think about it. It seems that the case in Jiangnan has been solved. Then why did the cabinet ministers dare not open the letter? Also, why was it sent by the King of East and the King of Chu? There are many twists and turns in this. Seeing the package on the table, those memorials and letters, he frowned.
"Father probably doesn't know about this yet. He has been resting at home these days because he has been feeling unwell. As for the case in Jiangnan, you should have heard about it a long time ago. Su Chong went to Jiangnan to investigate the case, but the case was jointly tried by the Chief Censor Lan Jili and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Du Yifu. It can be seen that this case is already a big one."
He pointed at the things on the table and flipped through them at random. Xu Changwen, the magistrate of Chunyang, and Xu Dong, the magistrate of Yongning, were both sent to Jiangnan by him this time. Who would have thought that they would be involved in this?
"And I know who is behind these two county magistrates. So, since this is a major case, we must be extremely cautious. If we want to make it a solid case, with these people joining us, we will have a better idea of how to try the case. I heard before that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Textile Bureau are involved in this. I wonder how these people will try it?"
This is the key point. You have to know that these involve the palace and the court, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs involves the retired emperor. The strange phenomenon in the sky a few days ago was widely circulated by the people. It was the result of the retired emperor practicing Taoism and intercepting the luck. Now the Ministry of Internal Affairs is taking the lead in transporting the supply of jade from Jiangnan, which confirms the actions of the retired emperor. The danger involved can be seen.
The Minister of the Court sat there, sipping his tea slowly, how could he not know these things? It was because he knew, so he had to figure out how to deal with these memorials sent to the Ministry of Justice. It was impossible for him to ignore them. He could suppress one side but not the other. So, if the Emperor knew about it, and the Ministry of Justice, the Inspectorate, including the Dali Temple, did not submit any memorials, wouldn't it be dereliction of duty?
"What you said is very true, but I don't know how the Ministry of Justice will deal with the case now that it has received the memorial."
Li Chaosheng frowned. Did his father ever explain these things? As the saying goes, less trouble is worse than more trouble. Here, it is their families that are arguing. On the surface, the Li family is not involved. But if you think about it carefully, with Lord Jing behind the scenes, the Li family will have to ask in the end. But now nothing has been done, the princes are about to enter the capital, and even the army that pacified the south of the capital is on the way back to the capital. If a major case is brought up at this time, it will be tantamount to ruining one's official career.
"Brother, if it was in the past, I would have agreed with you to submit the memorial, but now, all forces have gathered in the capital, and if you are not careful, you will step into the abyss. So, I think you should not start it on your own. Either keep it in your pocket or push it to the cabinet. The situation in the capital is mysterious now, and we have to be on guard."
This was also the time when Li Chaosheng was extremely cautious. The retired emperor's birthday banquet was held and the princes came to Beijing, saying that they were here to fulfill their filial piety. But as far as he knew, the two princesses had not even entered the gate of Changle Palace. It was unknown whether they could not go or did not want to go.
With the eldest son's reminder, the Minister of State had an idea in mind and thanked him with a fist.
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Master. Yesterday, I was still thinking about how to deal with this matter. After asking around, I found out that there are many things hidden. If this case is uncovered, Jiangnan will definitely be in chaos. Master, have you noticed something strange?"
He fished out two memorials, both written by Jia Yucun, the prefect of Jinling. The eldest son Li Chaosheng took them in his hands and examined them carefully. They were nothing more than saying that Jinling was in chaos and that government orders were changing every day.
"I wonder which strange place you are referring to, Senior Brother?"
"here,"
The Minister of State Affairs pointed to a name on the memorial and wrote, "Wang Mengshan, the Imperial Censor of Salt Inspection."
"I wonder what you mean, brother?"
How could a salt inspector, who had only succeeded Lin Ruhai and was in Yangzhou, be involved in the case in Nanjing? He asked in confusion.
"This man's office is in Yangzhou, so why did he appear in Jinling? And we saw him earlier, and he went to Jiangnanchun for a banquet, and then there was no news. Until the dike was destroyed and the fields were flooded, the Yangzhou government soldiers were witnesses. Isn't this all too coincidental? Of course, maybe I am just being too suspicious."
"This, there must be something wrong when things are out of the ordinary. What Senior Brother said makes sense!"
(End of this chapter)