Chapter 35 Secret Meeting with the King of Zhou and Conspiring to Kaifeng

Zhang Zhimu and his entourage arrived at Lingshui Wharf, and Mu Yi had already arranged everything. A steam fortune boat, escorting a passenger ship towed by a tugboat on which Zhang Zhimu and they were riding, did not stop too much at Lingshui Wharf, and set sail directly and went down the river.

When the boat arrived in Taiyuan, it was a little dark, but when passing by the Taiyuan Bridge construction site, you could see that the lights were bright here. All the piers of the bridge have been built and the bridge is being built. Although the water here is not as fast as that of Lingshui Wharf, the river is much wider, but now the technicians who built the bridge have experience, and several piers were built almost at the same time, and it took less than a year to complete all the piers and approach bridges. It seems that the bridge can be erected by the end of the year.

Zhang Zhimu said to Ouyang He: "Mr. Ouyang, it seems that with our current ability and one team, there is no problem in building a bridge like the Fenhe River in one year. ”

"This kind of thing is that the more you do it, the faster you do it." Ouyang He said, "Li Yunhe, they have finished drilling on the Yellow River over there in Tongguan Fenglingdu, and the railway here in Fenglingdu will also lay tracks next year, I don't know when the Yellow River Bridge will be built?" ”

"When I come back, I want to study with Mr. Lu and Lu Qi and consider a bridge plan based on the results of Li Yunhe's drilling. But we are going to build a double bridge over roads and railways at once, and I am determined. As for the time, at least it can only start after the railway repair notice is noticed. With the railway, our cement, steel, and construction equipment can be easily transported. At that time, the Taiyuan Bridge was also completed, and the personnel could be evacuated to Tongguan. ”

"At that time, the railway from Tongguan to Xi'an could also be completed. Can we take a train from Yaogang to Xi'an? Yang Jing, who was sitting next to him, said.

"Yes! However, now Liu Yun and the others have withdrawn too many people from Qinzhidao, and they have already started to build the section of the railway from Xi'an to Chencang (Baoji). In the future, the railway will be built to Tianshui and then to Lanzhou. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Huh! General Ningde and the others finished repairing the highway in Hexi, and they were about to start building the railway foundation, and then lay the tracks. We can get on the car from Yaogang and sleep for a few days before we get to Jiayuguan. Ouyang He thought further.

"That's right! At that time, the border will no longer be far away, and the border will be safer. The soldiers of the guards can take turns to return to the interior to rest, and it is not difficult to change guards. Zhang Zhimu said.

"The work over there in the Western Regions, Li Zhi has already begun. He said that they sent a very capable team to Jiayuguan. By bribing the merchants who come and go, he is sorting out the intelligence of the Western Regions. Zhang Zhimu said, "Now there are more and more merchants in the Western Regions. However, the Mongols were in the way over there, and the merchants were still not safe. I can't care about that side now. I see if we can spare some of our strength and do the work over there after we recover the Central Plains. ”

"If Ningde is not transferred, their army will move south. With their strength, they can solve the problems of the Western Regions. Ouyang He said, "I think it's better to wait for our traffic situation to improve further, and then let's move over there!" I now feel that wherever we use economic means to build roads, it is ours, and sometimes we don't necessarily use swords. If we build the railway to Jiayuguan, it will not be a problem for us to attack three thousand miles westward. I think we're going to make steady progress. "Now Ouyang He's mentality is very peaceful.

"Huh! I think Mr. Ouyang is also a steady progressive. Zhang Zhimu said.

"With our current strength, it is not a problem to fight east to Liaodong, west to the Western Regions, north to Mobei, and south to recover Annan. However, if we have defeated so many places and cannot have an effective means of governance, we will have to leave a lot of troops to defend them, and the number of troops we raise will not be enough. That would also distract us. Genghis Khan conquered so many places, and finally returned to the northern steppes? The more things that cannot be governed, the more burdens there are. That's it, let's beat down a piece and eat the next piece. Ouyang He said.

"In fact, as long as we move forward steadily, the speed will get faster and faster. It takes us two years to digest Shanxi, and it takes more than a year and less than two years to digest Shaanxi. I think our cadres are becoming more and more mature, and it will not take much time to govern the Central Plains. Zhang Zhimu said.

"It turned out that I had always had the idea of taking Sichuan first. Now it seems that the Central Plains will be taken first, and this will have a huge impact on the whole situation. Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan poses no threat to us. If we want to go to Sichuan after taking the Central Plains, we can go all the way along the Yangtze River, along the Daba Mountain all the way, and the two roads go hand in hand. Ouyang He said, "Now let Zhang Xianzhong go!" ”

"I don't know what happened to our Chuang Wangye's work for us? Now they should attack Zhenjiang, right? Zhang Zhimu said teasingly.

"I don't think the Ming army will have much time in Zhenjiang. There were neither those die-hard eunuchs, nor the army of Ying Tianfu. I estimate that Zhenjiang is lost. The Ming army will retreat in the south of the Yangtze River. Ouyang He analyzed.

"I think Li Zicheng has passed Lin'an (Hangzhou), and the Ming army in Jiangnan will be supported by the rainbow general. Zheng Zhilong will not tolerate the invasion of their territory. The so-called side of the couch does not allow others to sleep peacefully. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Then there's a good show. Li Zicheng may know very little about Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhilong's firearms are also good, I estimate that the Dashun army will suffer some losses at the beginning. In the land war, Zheng Zhilong was not the opponent of the Dashun army, but it was also difficult for the Dashun army to make a difference on the coast. The strength of the Zheng family should not be underestimated. Zhang Zhimu said.

"In that case, Li Zicheng will not be able to defend the Central Plains." Ouyang He said, "If he understands people, he should give us the Central Plains." Ouyang He said, "Anyway, they can't keep it if they want to." Hehe! ”

"No one can easily throw away the fat in their mouths." Zhang Zhimu knew that Li Zicheng gave up Shaanxi easily, and he would not give up easily in the Central Plains.

King Zhou of Kaifeng, the past two years have been really uncomfortable, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he has lived like a year. Since Emperor Chongzhen invited their family to Beijing, King Zhou knew that because of his close contacts with the people of Yaogang, Emperor Chongzhen was not at ease with himself. King Zhou also knew that his family's entry into Beijing would not end well. His inexplicable death is the best outcome. It seems that it is the right choice for my family not to enter Beijing. However, he pretended to be sick for so long, and Emperor Chongzhen did not send anyone to invite him again. It is estimated that the people of Yaogang suddenly killed the people of Dongchang, and Emperor Chongzhen must have seen that it was the people of Yaogang who made a move, and he didn't want to have too deep a grudge with the people of Yaogang, so he didn't do anything to himself again. But Emperor Chongzhen has the possibility of killing himself at any time. Although his own guards have changed the weapons of the kiln people, if the East and West Factory makes a move, it will definitely take action in a place and time that he can't imagine. They are in the dark and in the light, and they are invincible. The only hope is that the Yaogang people will take Henan as soon as possible, and it will be completely safe at that time. King Zhou wanted to ask the kiln people about their plans several times, but after thinking about it, forget it. The plans of the kiln gang people are far-reaching, they will take action if they think about it, and it is useless to ask again if they don't think about it. Fortunately, the people of Yaogang have never forgotten themselves, and they will notify themselves of any good things and good news. Now the radios used in the palace are the latest in Yaogang, and King Zhou has to understand every move of the people in Yaogang from the radio every day. Even most of the outside information has to be obtained from the radio, and the news of the kiln is too accurate and too timely. Even the previous "Yaogang Weekly" was half a beat slower than the radio.

When Princess Anping sent a coded telegram, the father and daughter finished translating it, and the content was that Zhang Zhimu was going to visit secretly. The father and daughter looked at each other and smiled. Princess Anping said, "Father is happy this time! ”

"Yes! It's finally here. King Zhou twisted his beard and said, "The Yaogang people have stabilized Shaanxi, and the next step must be to take Henan." I guess Zhang Dongjia is here for this. Take Henan, they will definitely say hello to me. ”

"Hurry up! We have really had enough of the days when we dare not go out of the palace every day. Wait for the kiln gang people to call, let's go to the kiln gang to live for a few days! Princess Anping said.

"Huh! My good daughter, you want to kiln, right? King Zhou said with a smile.

"Of course, now there is no one in the world who doesn't want to go to the kiln to see." Princess Anping said, "In the past two years, I don't know what will become of the kiln?" ”

"Your brother is very used to staying in the kiln, and he doesn't know how to be homesick. Hi! "King Zhou misses his son a little.

"Don't worry, Father." Princess Anping said, "When everything is stable, we will get on the boat here, and when we wake up from a big sleep, we will go to the kiln." At that time, my younger brother didn't have to hide his name. ”

When Zhang Zhimu and the others arrived at Kaifeng Wharf, they changed their clothes with Ouyang He and Yang Jing, and quietly went directly to the Yaogang Branch's own inn after quietly entering the city. There is a separate small courtyard at the back of the inn, which is prepared for the kiln gang people themselves. Zhang Zhimu, Ouyang He, and Yang Jing took people and lived in this small courtyard, and sent a telegram to King Zhou saying that he had arrived and asked King Zhou to arrange a time to meet.

King Zhou called back and said that any time was fine, and Zhang Zhimu made an appointment with them to meet in the evening.

After dinner, the two glass carriages of the palace drove out of the palace, picked up Zhang Zhimu and them, and sent them directly to the back garden of the palace. King Zhou and Princess Anping are waiting for them here.

After the salute, King Zhou came over and took Zhang Zhimu's hand and said, "Oops! I haven't seen you for some days. I want to die this king! ”

"We miss you too!" Zhang Zhimu said, "But I have never been idle to come to see you!" ”

Princess Anping came over to greet Zhang Zhimu, and then asked, "Why didn't Sister Yulin come together?" ”

"Huh! Your sister Yulin is now inconvenient again. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Oops! Really, Sister Yulin has always wanted a boy, and this time she will definitely be able to get her wish. "Princess Anping is very happy for Yang Yulin.

After everyone sat down, King Zhou said, "Zhang Dongjia, it's convenient to talk here." I have informed other family members that they are not allowed to come in. ”

"Good! King Zhou, then I'll pick up the important ones first. Zhang Zhimu took a sip of tea and said, "We are ready to carry out the southern expedition at the beginning of spring next year." The target is south of the Yellow River, Kaifeng to Huai'an, west of the line from the canal to Zhenjiang, and south to the Yangtze River, the entire Central Plains. Now that we have taken Hanzhong on the western front, we are ready to advance both east and west to directly take this vast area. ”

"Great!" Zhou Wang clapped his hands and said, "I've been waiting too long." I've really had enough of days like this. ”

"Now we have some concerns, and we want to discuss them with you." Zhang Zhimu looked at King Zhou and said.

"What's so polite?" King Zhou said, "But it doesn't hurt to say it! ”

"We don't want to completely turn against Emperor Chongzhen yet. Before we march south, we must occupy Datong and Kaifeng. Otherwise, we will have worries. But we have taken these two places, and the emperor really can't get by, and it is difficult to barely maintain it with us. We thought of a way, so that although the emperor knew that we did the thing, he could get by on face, and he hadn't been able to deal with us yet, so as not to tear his face. In this case, you and the acting king need to do a favor! After speaking, Zhang Zhimu looked at King Zhou's reaction.

King Zhou didn't bend and said, "You just said what should I do?" ”

"Huh! King Zhou is happy! Zhang Zhimu said, "We want to expel the officials of the imperial court in your name." Then we will send troops to take over the whole of Kaifeng. Do you think it will work? ”

"That's fine!" King Zhou said happily, "That's it." However, now Kaifeng's Henan Commander, Political Envoy, Supervision Envoy and other court officials have been replaced. They've been on my guard for a long time. ”

"Huh! Don't bother with these things, we will arrange them. We are only acting in the name of the king. In this way, the people of Kaifeng can feel at ease. The emperor also knows in his heart that we do things, as long as he can get by on face. Ouyang He said beside him.

"I'm sure you'll be able to do it." King Zhou said, "Besides, if the people of Kaifeng know that you have taken over Kaifeng, they will be even more happy." Maybe it's going to be a bit loud about beating gongs and drums. You are the great benefactors of our Kaifeng people. ”

"Huh! Which Kaifeng person doesn't want to open the seal, but it can also be like the kiln. Princess Anping said, "There are many people who have come back from the kiln, and they simply say that the kiln is like heaven." Those who have a little money in Kaifeng, the first thing they do when they get up in the morning is to turn on the radio and listen to the radio of the kiln. ”

"Yes! My daughter said it well. The hearts of our Kaifeng people have long been kilns. King Zhou said.

"Good!" Zhang Zhimu said, "I think so, when we go back, we will immediately open two two-megawatt generator sets, supply electricity to Kaifeng, and then open telephone services." Let the people of Kaifeng see the tangible benefits. After we took down Kaifeng, we also opened a Kaifeng radio station. In this way, Kaifeng people can not only listen to the program of one kiln radio station. You can also choose from several stations. ”

Ouyang He said: "I think we can also put the FM radio that Yangchang and they tested together." That's when the radio was even more lively! ”

"What is FM radio?" Princess Anping asked.

"Huh! All I can tell you now is that it's a new way of broadcasting. The effect of listening to it is much better than the current amplitude modulation. However, the FM radio station does not transmit too far. But the effect is completely different. In the future, your radio will have to be replaced. Your current radio doesn't have FM radio. Zhang Zhimu explained.

After the business was over, the atmosphere was lively.

Princess Anping said: "Oh, I haven't been to Yaogang for two years, and you have made a lot of good things. I heard on the radio, what's going on with the long-distance test of your car? Is it true that the car can walk without pulling a horse? ”

"Absolutely." Zhang Zhimu knew that it would be too difficult to explain this, "However, in the future, you will understand everything at a glance when you go to the kiln." ”

"Listen to the radio, you are going to build the railway to Fenglingdu?" Princess Anping was full of curiosity about the affairs of Yaogang.

"Huh! What the princess said was true. On the way, I also talked to Mr. Zhang about this. Ouyang He said, "Next year, we will build a road and railway bridge in Tongguan Fenglingdu." Now the railway from Tongguan to Xi'an and then to Chencang (Baoji) is also under construction. At that time, the railway could directly cross the Yellow River to Xi'an and Chencang (Baoji). ”

"Oops! Zhang Dongjia, you can build a bridge for both road and railway, it's unimaginable. King Zhou sighed and said, "You are really doing practical things." ”

"Hey! Zhang Dongjia, if your railway can be repaired to Xi'an, it should also be repaired to Kaifeng? "Princess Anping is coming to the spirit immediately.

"That's right." Zhang Zhimu said, "After we take Kaifeng, we can start building a railway from Tongguan to Shaanxi County, to Luoyang, to Zhengzhou and then to Kaifeng." ”

"Oops! At that time, it will be faster to go to the kiln. Princess Anping was pleased.

"Hey! We have a lot to do. Zhang Zhimu said, "We also want to build a railway from Zhengzhou to Hankou to completely connect the Yangtze River and the Yellow River." ”

"Oops! Zhang Dongjia, you can arrange some things to do! I'm suffocated! Princess Anping said.

"Your most important job now is to assist your father and the king in handling the affairs of Kaifeng." Zhang Zhimu said, "As for the future, I suggest that you should calm down and study hard in the kiln for two years." And then see what to do! ”

"Great! I always dreamed of listening to a lecture with Xiao Hongyu at Yaogang Academy. For Zhang Zhimu's suggestion, of course Princess Anping was happy.

"Hey! I said that this daughter of mine has returned from the kiln, but the soul has stayed in the kiln. King Zhou said.

"Princess Anping is extremely smart. If you can study hard for two years, it will be even more amazing in the future. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Hey! It's a pity that I'm old, otherwise I would have to ......" King Zhou said this, Zhang Zhimu said: "King Zhou, we have an idea. We will have more and more things to do in the future. There are likely to be unexpected places that you can't rest yet, so you have to check on us often. We want to set up a senate with wise and influential people like you and the king. We report important matters to the Senate, and you help check the gates. I think we can make fewer mistakes that way. What do you think? ”

"Oops! Good! All right! King Zhou didn't expect that Zhang Zhimu would make such an arrangement. He knew it was giving them a high name. The pay will be high in all aspects. They are like this, and the whole family is about to be killed if they are caught by Li Zicheng, and they are lucky people who fall into a beheading. It's a good thing that fell from the sky.

King Zhou said with emotion: "Zhang Dongjia, if you get the world, it will be in accordance with the will of heaven and the will of the people." You are the true son of heaven! ”

"No, no! King Zhou, we haven't talked about it. I definitely don't want to be the emperor. Zhang Zhimu said, "King Zhou, do you know why our Yaogang people are so united and work together?" ”

"Oh! I really want to hear about it. King Zhou said.

"Our common philosophy is that the world is the world of the people of the world." Zhang Zhimu said, "The reason why we oppose Li Zicheng's seizure of the world is because he has won the world, but he has only changed the emperor. It can't change these laws of repeated cycles of rise and fall. We just want to change all that. ”

What Zhang Zhimu said was what King Zhou was most interested in, and he knew that Zhang Zhimu was completely heart-to-heart with him today. He didn't speak, and listened to Zhang Zhimu go down.

"When each of our imperial courts started up, we would consider the sufferings of the people, but soon, officials at all levels and imperial relatives like you began to use various means to amass land, so that more and more landless people were born. The division was serious, and the people could not stand it anymore, so they rose up to rebel. overthrew an emperor, became the emperor himself, and began a reincarnation. If we want to have permanent stability in the world, we must solve this problem. Zhang Zhimu said, "Also, since Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, he has made great efforts to control corrupt officials. People are not less killed. But corruption has not been cured. Why? It's because there's something wrong with our rulers. So, these need to be completely changed. Since we think that the world is the world of the people of the world. Those who govern the world should serve everyone. This person must be recognized by everyone, capable and virtuous. If this man is not competent, the people of the world can remove him and replace him with a capable and virtuous man. The same is true for local officials at all levels, whose powers must be monitored by the people in order to reduce corruption. We have some pilot projects in Shanxi. Now it seems to be working out pretty well. Of course, no system is perfect, but democracy is the best system. ”

"Zhang Dongjia, you said that one is a matter of land, and the other is a matter of governance." King Zhou thought very seriously, "But no one who seizes the world will give up such benefits and rights." If we say this to the outside, there will be many people who oppose us. ”

"What you are saying is that those with vested interests will oppose us, but the gainers and wise people will support us." Zhang Zhimu said.

"When I have time, I hope to go to Shanxi to see how your democratic affairs are." King Zhou couldn't accept Zhang Zhimu's opinion at once.

Seeing that it was almost over, Zhang Zhimu said, "Lord, let's go back first." We will go straight back to the kiln early tomorrow morning, and it is not easy for us to stay here for a long time at this time. During this time, you should pay extra attention to safety. It would be nice to wait until the beginning of spring next year. ”

"Don't worry! Our guards have been replaced with the latest weapons. As long as nothing else, we support it for a while, and that's fine. Besides, your people have eyeliner everywhere in Kaifeng. If there is any situation, you will get the news immediately. King Zhou said, "And, if necessary." I can write you a letter on the king's side. ”

"No need." Zhang Zhimu said, "Everything that should be said has been said." Let's see you together in the kiln in the future! ”

Zhang Zhimu and Ouyang He left Kaifeng early the next morning to take a boat, first returned to Lingshui Wharf, took a train at Lingshui Wharf, did not stop at Yaogang, and continued to go north to Datong.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".