After serving as the first assistant of the cabinet, Zhou Yanru can be said to have no day of peace of mind, the matter of Nan Zhili has just been dealt with, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong and other rogues began to make trouble again, this time the emperor is determined to completely exterminate the rogues, and even did not hesitate to mobilize Liu Liangzuo, the general soldier of Songjiang, into Huguang, of course, there are also Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian's credit, the two of them have a judgment that the rogue is not extinguished and the world is restless, and the emperor agreed.

Exterminating the rogues is not a simple matter to talk about, there are too many things involved, conquest and fighting, in fact, the fight is food, grass and supplies, hundreds of thousands of troops go to fight with the rogues, if the supply of food can not keep up, the consequences are unimaginable.

Of course, the cabinet is responsible for such a big matter.

At this time, Zhou Yanru's attention had to be focused on Huai'an again, not only Zhou Yanru, but also the eyes of everyone in the cabinet were focused on Huai'an, the climate in the north was not good last year, and it suffered a famine, and I don't know what happened, the north has not been born in peace for many years, and has always suffered from many famines.

Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and many places in the north of Zhili have suffered from famine, and the governor's request for relief has been sent to the capital and the cabinet at all times.

It is almost impossible for the army to rely on the collection of taxes in the north, and now the governors of various places are complaining, and it is difficult for them to maintain even the army of the local guards, let alone the more than 100,000 troops under the command of Sun Chuanting.

Judging from the actual situation, the only thing that can be relied on is grain.

At the end of last year. After accurate calculations, deliberation by the cabinet, and the emperor's approval, the household department demanded that the Caoyun Governor's Mansion must transport 3 million stone of grain, which was 1 million stone more than in previous years, mainly in consideration of the famine in the north. But when the big war to exterminate the Liukou is unfolded, three million stone of grain is far from enough, and according to the six-month period given by the emperor, at least another million stone of grain needs to be added.

After the cabinet deliberated, he asked the emperor for approval, and he was ready to send an edict to the Caoyun Governor's Palace.

Gan Xuekuo, the governor of Caoyun, and Wang Duo, the secretary of Nanjing's household department, and others all quieted down, and the emergence of this situation made Zhou Yanru happy. Gan Xuekuo, Wang Duo and others are all ready to fight with Zheng Xunrui, maybe they have encountered trouble, or they have suffered some hardships, and they are unwilling to act rashly.

Zheng Xunrui has been in Huai'an for many years and has a very strong foundation, and it is impossible for Gan Xuekuo and others to overthrow Zheng Xunrui in a short period of time. Since Gan Xuekuo didn't want to bring down Zheng Xunrui soon, he could focus his main energy on Cao Yun. In this way, the transportation of grain can at least be guaranteed.

At this time, Zhang Pu, Zhang Cai, Yang Yi, Wu Changshi, Gong Dingyu and others came to the imperial court.

Seeing the twists and turns of Zhang Pu and others, Zhou Yanru's face turned blue and his back was cold.

Zhang Pu and others pointed the finger directly at Zheng Xunrui, although Zheng Xunrui's name was not mentioned in the fold for the time being, but Ma Shiying, Su Jiancheng, Wu Weiye, Gu Menglin, Chen Zilong were accused and impeached for the crime of rebellion, as well as Li Yan, who had left Huai'an to Nanjing to serve as the commander of the Nanjing Military Department. This is the accusation of Zheng Xunrui's rebellion.

Zhou Yanru looked down on Zhang Pu and others at all, he only had one mouth, he was not enough to succeed and more than to lose, he originally thought that Huai'an still had Gan Xuekuo in charge, but he didn't expect Gan Xuekuo to be unable to suppress Zhang Pu and others.

Once Huaibei is in trouble. It is conceivable what kind of situation Cao Yun will encounter, and may even be completely paralyzed, and now it has reached a critical moment, if Cao Yun is paralyzed, the imperial court will suffer a major blow.

Zhou Yanru secretly scolded Zhang Pu and others for not making sense, for their own selfish interests, regardless of the overall situation of the imperial court, impeaching Ma Shiying and others at such a critical moment, if Ma Shiying and others resigned in a swarm, then Gan Xuekuo would definitely have to jump the Grand Canal.

Zhou Yanru knew that the situation was not right, he immediately took Zhang Pu and others to the celebrant supervisor, and found the eunuch Wang Chengen, starting from the overall situation of the imperial court, Zhou Yanru thought that for the time being, ignore the twists and turns of Zhang Pu and others, and the cabinet could ask Gan Xuekuo to eliminate all difficulties and restore the luck. Wang Chengen only thought about it for a moment and agreed with Zhou Yanru's decision.

The matter is far from over at this point, and the situation that Zhou Yanru is most worried about has indeed appeared.

Gan Xuekuo, Ma Shiying, Su Jiancheng, Wu Weiye, Gu Menglin, Chen Zilong and others also went to the cabinet, all of which were in the same pattern, requiring resignation and returning home.

Ma Shiying and others resigned, which is understandable, but Gan Xuekuo, the governor of Caoyun, also resigned, which made Zhou Yanru strange, after a little thought, he quickly understood the mystery, it seems that the Donglin Party is not monolithic, there is a big problem inside, it should be said that this is a good opportunity.

After receiving the twist, Zhou Yanru thought it clearly, and was ready to go to Wang Chengen again to discuss.

It was at this time that he received a letter from Zheng Xunrui.

The letter was of course delivered by the most secret means, and no one could have known about it.

Zhou Yanru locked himself in the study and carefully read Zheng Xunrui's letter.

Zhou Yanru's face turned pale when he read this letter, he finally knew how powerful Zheng Xunrui was, he used to say that Zheng Xunrui was young and old, and he had unusual skills, Zhou Yanru felt that it was too much of a compliment, but this time it was different.

The things mentioned in Zheng Xunrui's letter are all the things that Zhou Yanru is most worried about, and to put it mildly, all of them are things that hit the key point of the imperial court.

Zhou Yanru had to consider Zheng Xunrui's ambitions.

Zheng Xunrui has a great appetite, and what he has in his heart is the entire Daming country.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yanru shuddered, he carefully thought about and acted Zheng Xunrui's actions over the years, after the high school champion, he took the initiative to apply for foreign parties, left the capital This place of right and wrong, and also left the shackled environment, in Yan'an Mansion, Suide and Shaanxi, Zheng Xunrui step by step, gradually control the situation, Zheng Jiajun continued to grow and develop, and later Zheng Xunrui served as the governor of Caoyun, part of the soldiers of Zheng Jiajun stayed in Shaanxi, still controlling the situation in Shaanxi, and the successor Shaanxi Governor Wen Zhenheng is also Zheng Xunrui's close relative, Needless to say, Zheng Xunrui's actions in Huai'an were completely in control of the situation.

Zheng Xunrui recovered Fuzhou, Jinzhou, Lushun and other places, but all the officials in these places were recommended by Zheng Xunrui, and they were all Zheng Xunrui's henchmen, and Fuzhou and other places were actually directly controlled by Zheng Xunrui.

Whenever Zheng Xunrui goes to a place, he controls the situation in a very short time, and when he goes to Nanjing this time, won't he be able to control the entire Nanjing and even Nanzhili in the shortest possible time.

After reading the letter, Zhou Yanru began to ponder.

Where to go, he must have a choice, although there is no need to show it in the current action, but he must have a number in his heart, otherwise the moment of great change will come, and he will be caught off guard.

Zhou Yanru's current identity is very special, as the first assistant of the cabinet, but he has not received the absolute trust of the emperor, and what he has done is not so glorious, it is completely different from when he was the first assistant to the cabinet before, according to his own understanding, he may be used as a chess piece, once the mission is completed, he will be kicked away without hesitation, and even his life will be in trouble.

Zheng Xunrui also saw this possibility and faintly pointed it out in the letter.

The emperor represents orthodoxy, and even if Zheng Xunrui can achieve hegemony in the future, he is also a rebel.

This made Zhou Yanru very hesitant, but there are many such precedents in history, the Sui Dynasty fell, the Tang Dynasty stood tall, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was the courtier of the Great Sui, and Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty was also in a yellow robe.

Is the emperor worthy of his hard work like Zhou Yanru?

It's dark, the housekeeper walked to the front of the study several times, listened to the movement inside, and left cautiously, recently, the master often meditates alone in the study, which is not an uncommon thing, but this time the time is very long, the housekeeper comes to see from time to time, and is also relieved.

Dinner has been brought several times, and the housekeeper once asked once, but what he got was Zhou Yanru's reprimand.

But you can't eat it, the housekeeper can only ask the kitchen to wait all the time, once the master walks out of the study, the kitchen has to serve delicious meals, but the old man's body can not be damaged.

Finally, the old man walked out of the study.

Then the faint light outside, the housekeeper found that the old man's expression was very solemn, but this solemnity was very different from the past, as if he had made up his mind.

The housekeeper didn't dare to ask, so he could only invite the master to dinner.

Zhou Yanru looked at the housekeeper, with a smile on his face, there are not many people he can trust, especially this time as the first assistant of the cabinet, it is impossible for the people in the house to be completely clear, there must be Jinyiwei and Dongchang's fanzi, this is not strange, it has not been completely trusted by the emperor.

But the steward is absolutely loyal.

"Butler, you are ready to help me with one thing."

"That's what the master commands."

"I wrote a letter, you want to find a way to send the letter to the hands of Zheng Xunrui, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, you have to remember that you must not let anyone know, this is a matter of wealth and life."

The butler nodded.

"Don't worry, sir, the little ones will fight for their lives, and they must do this well."

"I believe in you, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to do this, you also know the things in the house, pay more attention to them on weekdays, especially those who later enter the mansion as subordinates, pay attention to their every move, some key places in the mansion, they are not allowed to approach."

After finishing and writing, Zhou Yanru patted the butler on the shoulder.

"I haven't drunk in a long time, and today you drink with me, and you don't want to think about anything." (To be continued......)