The emperor frowned and asked, "Isn't it the second child of the Zheng Qing family?" I heard that he fought very well with a group of temporarily recruited militiamen. ”

"Your Majesty, Zheng Yunming is just guarding the palace in Shashi. However, at such an age, he commanded a large army to deal with a strong enemy in such a way, which is really a rare young general since the founding of the country. But the blade of the sword has been sharpened by itself, and I hope that His Majesty will not give him too much grace, and let him grow up slowly in the land of Jingxiang. ”

"I can allow him to grow up slowly, but I'm afraid that Hu Ren won't give him this time." The emperor sat with his hands down, as if he was talking about a certain Hanlin scholar or the edict in the pavilion: "When this autumn, the Hu people will definitely enter the palace in a big way." Zheng Yunming garrisoned Xiangyang, the stakes are very important, if he misses a major event because of his young knowledge, how can he regret it? ”

Wei Liaoweng heard the meaning of the emperor's words, and still felt that Zheng Yunming was young and inexperienced, so he couldn't rest assured that he would lead troops to defend the town.

"Your Majesty has also seen this son, I think that although this child is young and famous, he is calm and old, even if he is a veteran general who has led the army for ten years, he may not be able to have his calmness when he is on the occasion." He said slowly: "And Zheng Yunming has a certain prestige in Xiangyang at the moment, and his department is actually one of the powerful elite soldiers in Jinghu, and now he is considering removing him." It will have a negative impact on the defense of Xiangyang, Ezhou and Jiangling. ”

The emperor was slightly unhappy: "I didn't say that I would remove him." When I was in Zheng Qing's house, I could see that this son was not idle. Therefore, this kind of pavilion talent must focus on protection, and he can't just send his life to the blade of the captive horseman. What do you think of the transfer of Huangzhou's Meng Heng Department to Xiangyang and Zheng Yunming's Department to Huangzhou? ”

Wei Liaoweng was in a hurry, stood up suddenly, and said with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, this discussion is inappropriate." Huangzhou is also an important place, Xiangyang is unfavorable at least can be held, and Meng Heng can go up the river to rescue. If Zheng Yunming is replaced to defend Huangzhou, the enemy divides his troops and raids, Zheng Yunming will fall slightly, and it will be difficult to hold on to the city wall of Huangzhou for a long time. Once the Hu people captured Huangzhou, they could easily cross the Yangtze River and directly copy the back road of the generals of Jinghu. Even the soldiers pointed directly at the south of the Yangtze River and threatened the Beijing division. Huangzhou is the hinterland of Jinghu, and it must be guarded by a member of the house, and it is necessary not to let a new talent like Zheng Yunming serve as a vassal. ”

The emperor thought about it and felt that what Wei Liaoweng said had some truth, so he motioned for him to sit down, and asked, "How sure is Xiangyang about dealing with the Hu people?" ”

Wei Liaoweng replied: "Since the recovery of Marquis Yue, Xiangyang has stood in the western border of the country for one hundred and fifty years, and it has not been conquered by the Jin. Its walls and fortifications are among the best in the whole of Gyeongho. There had been a rebellion before, so Zhao Kui had already transferred all the threatening northern troops out of the city. At present, there are 10,000 people of Zheng Yunming's troops stationed in the city, which is enough to suppress the arrogant soldiers and fierce generals of various departments and make them know what they are afraid of. At the same time, there are 60,000 guards in Xiangyang City, among which there are also soldiers and horses who have been famous in Jinghu for many years. Zhao Kui is also familiar with the geography of Jinghu, and his command and dispatch has the style of a father, and he has mastered these tens of thousands of elite soldiers, even if the enemy pours into attack, at least he can hold the city and wait for reinforcements from the imperial court. ”

As long as the city could be defended, the Song Dynasty had hope of victory. This is a set of mature tactics that the Great Song Dynasty has relied on to compete with the Jin people for the border area for many years. The front can hold the city, and the troops behind can take the boats to come to the rescue, putting the besieging enemy in a dilemma of internal and external attacks.

The Emperor seemed to be satisfied with Wei Liaoweng's answer. He didn't ask any further. He picked up the teacup and took a sip gently, and said: "Recently, Zheng Qingzhi has gone to the throne, and there are many indignant words in the court. What do you think? ”

Wei Liaoweng's heart sank, he was still sick at the moment, his spirit was not as full as before, and he was often worried about the situation in the border areas upstream. At this time, there is really no extra energy to fall into the whirlpool of political struggle.

He pondered the words for a moment and said cautiously: "The battle of Jinluo was a fiasco, and Sanjing gained and lost. This great responsibility has to be borne by Zheng Qingzhi, and he has repeatedly asked for resignation, and it has been delayed until today, which can be regarded as a demonstration of His Majesty's honor. But this step has to be taken, I think that the opposition in the court is not to help Zheng Qingzhi exonerate himself from the responsibility of the defeat of Luo, but to worry that after Zheng Qingzhi goes to the throne, his various good governance will also subside, and the country will return to the previous situation of ten thousand horses, which is what the ministers are most worried about. ”

The emperor shook his head: "I see that after Zheng Qingzhi went to the court, there were some people who were restless and wanted to move!" ”

Wei Liaoweng was taken aback, it was rare for the emperor to so openly accuse the court of trying to seize power.

The emperor hatefully picked up a letter from the desk at hand and asked Huangmen to hand it to Wei Liaoweng.

This is a memo submitted by a very important figure in the DPRK and China, in which it is written that Shi Songzhi, the former ambassador of Jinghu, has been in Jinghu for a long time, is familiar with border affairs, and has served as the boss of the major generals of Jinghu for a long time. Now is the time for the country to use troops, and Shi Songzhi can be selected into the political hall as an assistant to the emperor in handling side affairs.

Wei Liaoweng's heart also burned with a nameless anger. The enemies have already arrived at the doorstep, and these people are still entangled in the same party and fighting differences, saying that it is light to abolish the public for private purposes, and what is the difference between saying it is heavy and abolishing the military power of the four generals when Qin Hui welcomed Gaozong?

There was a slight anger in the emperor's accent: "These Siming people were driven out of the imperial court by Zheng Qingzhi, so they went against Zheng Qing's family everywhere. The upper and lower levels only know how to pass the buck to each other, and they don't care about the importance of state affairs at all! I didn't do what they wanted! They thought that if they drove away Zheng Qing's family in the position of prime minister, it must be Shi Songzhi who was in power? I just promoted a Qiao Xingjian to show them! Without Zheng Qingzhi, I still don't need the Four Ming people to assist! ”

In the court, "Siming" is a taboo word. Originally, it was not uncommon for there to be some officials from the four Ming backgrounds in the court, and from Nandu to today, there are more than 900 scholars under the jurisdiction of the entire Ming Prefecture who have won the battle in the scientific field. When a few lucky Siming people become the backbone of the court, it is a thing worthy of the pride of Mingzhou people.

But since Shi Miyuan was in charge of national politics, everything has changed. In order to consolidate his position, he spared no effort to promote his fellow villagers, trying to form his own political group through the friendship of the township party, and his various urgent means made the emperor feel unbearable. But it cannot be denied that Shi Xianggong's policy is effective, since the court and the outside of the court are full of fellow villagers in Mingzhou, Shi Miyuan implements his policy like an arm, and he can no longer feel hindered.

It's just that there is a lot of gossip in the countryside, "Zhu Zigui of the Manchu Dynasty is full of Siming people" is not only a rumor on the streets and alleys, even the officials in the Ninefold Forbidden Palace also know it. The people of Mingzhou have been in power for more than 20 years, and I don't know how much jealousy and hatred they have borne behind them. So much so that after Shi Miyuan's death, after the reorganization of the political affairs hall, there was no more Siming person at the level of Zaifu.

Despite this, the officials from Mingzhou have been trained for more than 20 years, and their wings are already full, and it is by no means as simple as Duanping Tianzi thinks that he wants to obediently give up the throne of the political hall.

The transmission of government decrees, local returns, and the adjustment of personnel relations in the court, after the emperor became in power, he felt the existence of a unique force in the court in almost everything. These are some careerists who are not willing to be ousted from the throne of power. And the energy of their activities is so great that it almost hinders the operation of national politics.

Who can know whether Shi Songzhi, the nephew of Shi Miyuan and the ambassador of Jinghu pacification and control, who was born in the four Ming people of Ludao, did not rescue the army in Luo, nor did he transport grain and grass supplies in the battle of Duanping into Luo, whether he deliberately thought that the battle would fail and Zheng Qingzhi would take responsibility and step down? It is important to know that the failure of the operation was partly due to the rapid reaction of the Mongols and the incompetence of the Song army in reconnaissance. Half of it was also because the supply of food and grass was not available, so that the front-line troops were without food for several days.

Whenever I think of this public case, how can I not let the emperor want to completely drive the Siming people out of the political hall in his heart?

Wei Liaoweng thought much more than the Son of Heaven. The officials from the Siming Dynasty have formed an indisputable force in the officialdom, and if they want to hastily separate them from the bureaucratic system of the Great Song Dynasty, it is not only the officials of the Siming Dynasty who will suffer, but also the Great Song Dynasty itself.

A truly mature politician knows how to back down and compromise, not just oppose and insist. Since the Siming people have become a part of the country's political ecology, they should be encouraged to carry forward the beneficial side of the country, and to curb their various evil deeds that undermine the country's politics.

"If you want to rush to sweep away the influence of the Siming people in the court now, it will only bring greater disasters to the country." Wei Liaoweng was full of sincerity to the emperor's performance: "Your Majesty wants to clarify the mood of the court, and the minister can understand it. But the first step in clarifying politics is to appease the Siming people. ”

The emperor shook his head, of course he knew that it was only a matter of time before the four Ming people of the Dao Dao entered the political affairs hall, even if he did not take into account the power of the officials from Mingzhou in the imperial court, letting so many shrewd and capable Mingzhou officials be excluded from the administrative center for a long time was itself a thoughtless move to restrict his administrative ability.

He just complained casually to his close courtiers. If Zheng Qingzhi was there, he would probably follow his own meaning to make a remark of approval first, and then use euphemistic words to slowly wake up the emperor.

It's a pity that Zheng Qingzhi is no longer the head of the political affairs hall, and after hearing that he resigned, he immediately left Beijing and went to visit relatives and friends in various places. At present, the only person who can accompany him is this silent and persistent Mr. Tsuruyama.