Yang Ling left the Forbidden City, first went back to the inner factory to understand the details of the development of the factory during this period of time away from Beijing, Wu Jie, Huang Qiyin, Yu Yong heard that Yang Ling was promoted to marquis, the official to the dragon and tiger general, are overjoyed, several people congratulated, this will be the development of the factory one by one.

The intelligence network of the inner factory has been fully launched in all parts of the Ming Dynasty, because they have found a unique way, the collection level of the intelligence network does not conflict with the East Factory, the West Factory, and Jinyiwei, so it has developed very quickly, and the effect is also very fast, Yang Ling's ear report God has now come from behind, becoming the most efficient department in the factory guard.

Yu Yong was born with a businessman's mind, he is not afraid of being taken advantage of in business, the inner factory is similar to the operation of a joint-stock company, in line with the purpose of making money together, not only did not offend the existing local gentry group, but also pulled them in, Jin merchants, Hui merchants, Fujian merchants, Ganshan horse gang, Jiangnan Shi clan and even the honorable ministers of the Beijing division continue to join, their interests are both lost, one is prosperous, and has faintly formed a very powerful latent force.

If this force is in need, it can gather hundreds of millions of taels of silver overnight, and it can also affect the opinions of many officials in Beijing and local areas, its power does not seem to be so obvious, but it has moistened things in a silent way, and it is rapidly infiltrating the power of various strata such as the political circles, scholars, and business circles of the Ming Dynasty, and the feeling of outsiders is not so obvious, but the heads of several major stalls in the inner factory clearly know how huge this force is.

If Yang Ling wants to show his ambitions in the officialdom and political arena, he must have his own political opinions. What the emperor can give him is power, but whether this power can really play its function, whether it can not pass the buck and go absurdly between the upper and lower and the parallel, depends on the cooperation and obedience of all strata of Shinong, industry and commerce, and the inner factory is now pulling the elites and leaders of these strata into its own boat.

Seeing that the cathedral was about to be completed, several missionaries were eager to preach again, and they went to the church to check the progress of the project. Feng Tang, the third-grade head in charge of the research of the musket, did not achieve much, and he was quite annoyed by this, and he couldn't help but be a little ashamed when he saw Yang Ling.

Yang Ling knew that in the extremely detailed era of the development of various specialized disciplines in modern times, it would take several years to invent a new weapon and overcome a technical difficulty.

Now the Shaanxi political envoy has begun to fully prepare for the trial planting of sweet potatoes and corn, although Liu Jin is resentful of Yang Lingheng on his power road, but his local concept is extremely heavy, anyway, there is an inner factory to ensure that there will be no famine in Shaanxi, if these crops are really miraculous, it is for the hometown to do a great merit, so he is extremely concerned about this matter, always pay attention to the matter of Shaanxi trial planting new grain, the inner factory to Shaanxi grain seeds and teach farming craftsmen, Liu Jin is extremely cooperative.

Min Wenjian has been promoted to the commander of the Jiangnan Provincial Metropolitan Envoy, and the Jiangnan Provincial Commander has a total of two generals, one of whom is responsible for military training, called the palm print. One is in charge of Tuntian, called the Tuntian, Min Wenjian is now the secretary of Jiangnan Province, responsible for the affairs of the military Tuntian in the entire land of fish and rice.

Min Wenjian is not good at this, but he admires Yang Ling's ability very much, he neither understands nor will he know about Tuntian, but he knows that he will strictly follow Yang Ling's instructions to do, and all the barren land in the general will be planted with new crops, and he will order the soldiers to open up a large number of raw fields that are not suitable for planting crops, and he will spare no effort to do things.

Zhu Zhishan is also promoting new crops in Taoyuan, and he is ready to try two kinds a year first, but his place is too small, and it is far from the momentum of Shaanxi and Jiangnan Province. Yang Ling was extremely happy when he heard this, and now it seems that only Jingshi has the least strength, but under the feet of the Son of Heaven, it is indeed not appropriate to be too high-profile under the situation that the civil and military officials are suspicious.

Otherwise, these fields will rely on thousands of young and strong laborers in the inner factory, and it is not easy to farm, Yang Ling is worried that if thousands of tenants have nothing to do, it will inevitably cause a civil uprising, but fortunately, before Cheng Qiyun left, the tenants of the purchased fields were arranged very properly, and those tenants did not make trouble, and they all received grain seeds in peace, and followed the master to learn the method of farming.

Yang Ling nodded with satisfaction after listening to these introductions, and said to Wu Jie: "This official is now said to be knighted and added to the official, which is exactly the sharpest, hehe, and at the same time, it is also the target of the public, and this matter of admonishing the opening of the sea ban is even more cautious." What is the list that I asked Wu Lao to prepare before returning to Beijing? ”

Wu Jie smiled and said: "The humble position and Lord Huang are worried that the adult is proud, and he has lost his caution, and after listening to the adult's 'public target', I think that the adult has already discussed it, and I will wait until I can put my mind at ease."

He gently took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Yang Ling, and said reservedly: "My lord, this list is a list of officials who are closely related to the wealthy gentry clan who are smuggled along the coast by us and Jinyiwei and Dongchang, a total of seventy-six people, of which twenty-nine are able to speak in the court.

Such a person's eyes are all a sharp word, not to mention any integrity, we show their authority, induce them to benefit, they do not bow to us, these twenty-nine officials have already agreed, if someone admonishes to open the sea ban on the above expression, please look at it."

Yang Ling happily took it, looked at it carefully, and screened out the twenty-nine people from the fifth grade to the third grade, the grade is uncertain, there are officials from the six departments, and there are also officials from the Hanlin Academy, Chunfang, and the Imperial Embassy, but none of them are in control of the power of the DPRK.

He sighed softly and thought for a while before he said slowly: "The six ministers of the Central Committee of the Central Committee and the nine secretaries of the cabinet, the scholars of the cabinet, those who are worried are either worried that the power of the eunuchs will be uncontrollable because of this, or they are worried that the construction of naval divisions and the decentralization of military power will cause chaos.

Although the meritorious heroes and princes are not in power, their influence in the court should not be underestimated, and now with the business of the inner factory, most of them are brought in, and I think they will not delay when the official proposes to lift the sea ban."

Huang Qiyin remembered his own experience, and sighed with deep emotion: "Yes, such a major event must not be reckless, you need to calmly arrange, plan and then act, now you don't think carefully and prepare well, when the court announces the political opinions, it is already the final decisive battle of the dagger, and it is too late to deal with it at that time, and if you are not careful, you will be knocked down for nine nights, and you will not be able to turn over from now on." ”

Wu Jie said: "Well, accumulating an inch of baht, it should be like this, but there are still a considerable number of powerful officials in the court, some of them have no foresight, some are from the wealthy gentry of the inland plains, and they are worried that the lifting of the ban on opening the sea will affect their family interests, and some are stupid and old, and firmly control the idea that the heavenly kingdom only receives tribute and does not trade, so it is a little difficult to make them nod."

Peng Jizu said disapprenously: "Are the two adults too worried? The emperor's favor to our factory supervisor is unmatched, as long as the emperor nods, they have to agree if they agree, and they have to agree if they don't agree, what should they do? ”

Yang Ling shook his head and said: "The DPRK and China are not as good as the army, there is no room for negotiation at all when the military order is issued, these ministers are only the leaders of these forces, with them taking the lead in opposition, there will inevitably be a considerable number of officials who will obstruct them, even the emperor will not be able to forcibly issue an edict in the face of fierce opposition from the masses."

He thought thoughtfully for a moment, a smile appeared on his lips, and he turned to Wu Jie: "These people, Wu Lao can draw up a list?" ”

Wu Jie hurriedly took out another note from his left sleeve and said: "The lowly post has been prepared for a long time, and after estimation, the officials who are quite prestigious among the civil officials, and are very likely to take the lead in opposing the adult's strategy of opening up the sea have all been recorded on this piece of paper."

Yang Ling took it and said, "This official looks at who they are, it seems that this matter will fall on Scholar Jiao."

As soon as Yang Ling's voice fell, a fan appeared by the door, and said respectfully: "Lord Factory Governor, Cabinet Scholar Jiao University, please come to the house for a while."

Yang Ling laughed, put the note into his sleeve, got up and said: "This really means that Cao Ying, Cao Ying is here, come here, prepare the horse, the official will go to Jiaofu immediately!" ”

In the ancestral hall in the backyard of the Jiao family, Jiao Fang offered incense to the ancestral tablet, kowtowed to the ground, and prayed silently for a long time. His son Jiao Huang also kowtowed to his father, and then stepped forward and picked up his father.

Jiao Huang is Jiao Fang's youngest son, who is just 28 years old this year. Lao Jiao Fang had five sons, the eldest son, the third son, and the fourth son died early, if there were only two sons, the second son Jiao Rui is now the judge of Wuding Prefecture in Shandong, and Jiao Huang has just entered the Hanlin Academy as a reviewer.

Jiao Huang picked up Jiao Fang and said softly: "Father, Yang Ling has been repeatedly promoted by Jian, and the emperor's favor is indeed incomprehensible, but it is extremely easy to break." The son is in the Hanlin Academy, knowing that many officials are dissatisfied with him, and now Yang Ling is in charge of military power, financial power, and the power of supervising hundreds of officials.

The son thought that his father should not offend Yang Ling, but he should not be too close to him, but his father refused the gift of Minister Liu Gong yesterday, and today he invited Yang Ling to a banquet, which made it clear that he wanted to stand by his side. The son is afraid that his father will offend Liu Gong and the Chinese martial arts, and it will be difficult to support the lonely wood, and at that time, the open guns and hidden arrows will be impossible to prevent."

Jiao Fang smiled, glanced at him, shook his head lightly and said: "Son, your vision is still far away, your back against the big tree is good for the shade, my father has leaned on the big tree for a lifetime, my old eyes will not be wrong, Lord Yang is a reliable person."

He looked at the ancestral tablet in the smoke of the incense on the incense table and said: "Our family has been four generations of officials, your great-ancestor Rengong, the official to the Han Wangfu professor, posthumously presented Dr. Guanglu, the prince of Zhuguo, the prince of Zhuguo, the secretary of the Ministry and the scholar of Wuyingdian University, and the great-grandmother was given a product of Mrs. Fate; Your grandfather, Jing Hegong, was an official who went to the Hanlin Academy to edit, and after his death, he enjoyed Lu and his official position was exactly the same as your great-grandfather. ”

"It's your father's generation", Jiao Fang let his son help him, walked to the outside room and sat down, and continued: "When I was alive, I was already an official residence, and I was awarded a university scholar and a Jin Feng Zuozhu country. ”

Jiao Huang's face turned red, and he said abruptly: "Yes, my son understands, but the career is bumpy and the officialdom is sinister, and my son just thinks that Lord Yang is very young but sharp, which is really not a good omen."

Jiao Fang glanced at it and said, "This, Dad can see it." He stroked his white beard lightly and said in a deep voice: "Your father Tianshun has been in high school for eight years, but he has been an editor in the Hanlin Academy for nine years, and he has never been promoted. In the second year of Chenghua, in order to rehabilitate Lord Yu Qian, the sacrificial text written by your father caused a sensation in the government and the opposition, and Emperor Xianzong appreciated it very much, which was originally an opportunity for promotion, but Wan An and Peng Shi annihilated the party, and their father was driven out of the court by them for a reason. ”

"Hey! The ups and downs of the Huan Sea, after several twists and turns, I finally returned to the court, Liu Jian, Xie Qian, these so-called humble gentlemen, are also a party of neighbors, suppressed me! Jiangxi people like Wan An, Peng Shi, and Xie Qian are jealous of their abilities, and they don't have a good thing."

Jiao Fang's enemies in his life, most of them are from Jiangxi, these people's officials have always been older than him, and he can't raise his head when he suppresses them, old Jiao Fang is now more than seventy years old, but when it comes to Jiangxi people, they are still like thunder.

Jiao Huang saw that his face turned red with anger, and he gasped, and hurriedly stroked his chest and back, and said, "Father is angry."

Jiao Fang took a few breaths and said: "Today's emperor is young, and the only favorites are Lord Yang, Gonggong Liu and other old ministers in the prince's palace. If my expectations are correct, yesterday it was said that Lord Yang's promotion to marquis and control of military power was the first step for Gonggong Liu to retreat and take the lead! ”

"Gonggong Liu can only share wealth and prosperity, not hardship, and is not the most reliable candidate. And Lord Yang knows how to make good use of people and has a benevolent surname, compared with him, his father can only choose to stand by him. Do you think it's so easy to gain a foothold in the cabinet and keep my Jiao family happy? ”

Jiao Huang hesitated: "Lord Yang, can he stand?" ”

Jiao Fang smiled slightly: "Yes!" Wang Qiong and Fan Ting were removed, Lord Yang recuperated from his injuries for more than a month, and the celebrant and Dongchang handed over to Liu Jin.

His white eyebrows moved, and he said, "Dad is inviting Lord Yang to a banquet today, just to know what and how much he wants to give up." At this time and at that time, there are some things that cannot be let go now."

In the Accord in the inner hall of Jiao's house, Yang Ling and Jiao Fang sat opposite each other and drank.

The two of them talked about the situation of Datong and Jingshi after farewell, Yang Ling knew that Jiao Fang must have something else to say, so he calmed down and did not move, the two chatted for a while, Jiao Fang poured another cup for Yang Ling, and asked: "My lord has made great contributions to this trip, and today the emperor will reward him, and my lord will be promoted to marquis, and he will be in charge of the officers and soldiers of the four towns, which is really gratifying."

"Oh?" Yang Ling glanced at Jiao Fang and said quietly: "Hehe." I am a civil and military official, who has ever been so rewarded for his dedication and hard work to assist the emperor? The emperor rewarded me so much, the gentleman's kindness is deep, and the official is inscribed in the five. , However, the blessings and misfortunes are attached, and the reward is so heavy that it makes the civil and military officials look sideways, and I am really terrified in my heart, and I am thinking of finding an opportunity to think about the emperor's words and give me a reward."

A hint of joy flashed in Jiao Fang's eyes, and he hurriedly asked: "My lord, I am high-spirited and open-minded, and this open-mindedness is admired by my subordinates. It's just that now the adults have the power to supervise the hundred officials, the power to pay taxes in the Ming Dynasty, and the right to command the elite soldiers of the four towns of the border army in the Beijing camp, all of which are hot.

The subordinates are closely related to the voice of adults, share honor and disgrace, and dare not do their best to worry about things related to the future of adults? I don't know what position my lord wants to resign, my old body has been up and down for decades, and I may put forward some humble opinions for my lord's reference."

"It turned out that Jiao Fang also saw that Liu Jin had roasted me on the fire", Yang Ling was a little surprised, he didn't expect Jiao Fang to be so concerned about him. Jiao Fang's performance was too flattering, which inevitably made people look down on him a little.

Yang Ling thought for a while, and said calmly: "Don't hide it from the elder, this official is now thinking about lifting the sea ban and becoming rich and prosperous, as for the right to command the army and train the army, hehe, this official is from a literati background, but he has only been a general of the Shenji Battalion, how can he command the general army of the four towns?" The emperor trusts him so much, and he should do what he can as a courtier, and I want to hand over this military power."

Jiao Fang frowned slightly, and asked: "Well, handing over the military power to avoid jealousy is indeed a wise way to protect one's life, but in this way, the adults can rest assured in the inner factory and retain the right to supervise the hundred officials?" ”

Yang Ling looked at him and said, "What does Elder Ge think?" ”

Jiao Fang shook his head and said: "Forgive the subordinates for being presumptuous, the subordinates think that it is absolutely impossible!" ”

Yang Ling only thought about forming an alliance with Uliangha in the north, provoking Tatar civil strife, and weakening them to destroy them with the strength of the Ming army. As for the lifting of the sea ban and trade with all countries, as long as this important event is done, in addition to enriching the country and strengthening the people, mutual knowledge and cultural exchanges will inevitably slowly affect the Ming Dynasty and make it change in the way of drizzle.

He believed that as long as it could always maintain exchanges with the world, it would not be possible to decay if it was still the most powerful and richest empire in the world.

His wisdom and ability are not much better than those of the ancients, and his only strength is the insight that has already seen history, and these insights, even if they are spoken, will only be regarded as absurd statements, and theories hundreds of years in advance cannot be understood by them.

Only in sync with the world, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty can get in touch with these new things, so that they can feel little by little in life, and they can understand and appreciate what is advanced and what is backward.

So it's enough to be able to do this, and his mission is complete, as for the high power, it can bring endless glory, but why not always with bloody rain? If you don't only have two years of life, you should be away from the center of power at that time, hide behind the scenes, and spend your life with your wife and concubines, how free and easy should you be?

Yang Ling felt this in his heart, so he didn't care after listening to Jiao Fang's words, and only smiled slightly: "Why not?" ”

Jiao Fang said: "People are in government, and people are dead." Your Excellency should know how many people in the government and the opposition are opposed, and if you think that you will be able to sit back and relax with this policy, and from then on you will only see that your own efforts are in vain and give up halfway."

Yang Ling's heart moved when he heard this, right, are there still few examples of people dying in politics throughout the ages? Away from the center of power, can the implementation of policies still be guaranteed? But the power of the army is too tricky, it is a sharp sword hanging over the head and falling at some point.

He frowned and said: "In order to persuade the civil officials to cooperate with the celebrant and the celebrant supervisor, it has long been allowed to give up the tax power of the official, and you also know this, since you oppose it, isn't it right to give up the military power?" With the military power in hand, it is really like riding a tiger's back."

Jiao Fang said: "Since ancient times, power is more than wealth, Shi Chongfu is rival to the country, not as good as the generals who hold the army of a government in their hands, taxes are the wealth of the imperial court, and it is illegal to intercept it, and it is far less than the wealth of the inner factory.

The reading power of the inner factory is outside the imperial court, and it is close to the emperor, which is the foundation of the adult's life, so the power of the inner factory cannot be moved. However, it is precisely because of the internal factory reading strength outside the court that adults can only hide behind the scenes, unable to really get involved in court politics, and will always be just an outsider. Minister Liu Gong has the right to 'approve red', Liu Gong is friendly with adults, and adults can use him to influence the political situation, or will they have a dislike for each other one day? Wouldn't adults be beyond the reach of the government? ”

Someday? It's already going to turn against you now.

Yang Ling understood the meaning of Jiao Fang's words, and also knew that although he was a cabinet scholar, if Liu Jin really clashed with him head-on, even if Jiao Fang was completely on his side, lost Liu Jin's support, and could not directly participate in the government politics, Jiao Fang would be difficult to support alone, and it would be difficult to have any effect.

Yang Ling couldn't help but hesitate and shook his head when he thought of this, starting from the commander of the army to participate in the government and politics, and not giving up the inner factory, the generals of the DPRK and the Central Committee did not know how many ministers were jealous, and they must try their best to restrain and clamp them. Besides, the emperor is young, and he still doesn't know the stakes, can Zhengde still rest assured that he will be able to hand over so much power to a courtier in two years?

Jiao Fang narrowed his eyes and took a sip of wine, and said slowly: "My lord, what do you think the famous ministers of the ancients rely on to achieve a lifetime of meritorious deeds and a good beginning and a good end?" ”

Yang Ling said: "Naturally, he is talented, and he can judge the situation and not be arrogant and deceive, and at the same time, he has to meet Mingjun, so that he can make contributions and live a peaceful life."

Jiao Fang nodded, shook his head again, and said, "But my subordinates think that the most important point is the emperor's ambition."

Yang Ling frowned and said, "The emperor's ambition? What does this mean? ”

Jiao Fang said: "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is determined to expand the territory and create a powerful Han dynasty, so what he reuses is the talents who can accompany him on this road. Tang Taizong chose to govern a prosperous Tang Dynasty, a peaceful world, so most of them were Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and other famous ministers. What are the ambitions of the emperor today? ”

Yang Ling blurted out: "The emperor is still martial, and he intends to expand his territory and be a martial emperor."

Jiao Fang stroked his palm and said: "Exactly, so my lord said that it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take charge of the soldiers, only by taking charge of the soldiers, training the troops, and using the soldiers, can the emperor always walk on the same road, and the holy family will endure." As for the adults' fear that the military power in their hands will cause jealousy, the Han Wu can prohibit the martial arts to lead the troops in person, and the adults can't let the current emperor, who is still martial and good soldiers, take command in person? ”。

(To be continued)