The first wind and rain drifted away

It's the New Year, and the entire circle of noble families and relatives in the capital is panicked and unintentional.

The sad ending of the Jiading Bofu family made the other royal relatives feel cold, what's wrong with the emperor, do you want to take the knife on your relatives?

Similarly, after Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, was arrested and taken out of prison, there was a continuous reorganization of the Beijing camp in the middle, and people from Xungui's children kept leaving, which undoubtedly made people not understand Emperor Chongzhen's intentions.

Zhou Kui is the head of the emperor's relatives and relatives, and Zhu Chunchen, the prince of Chengguo, is the head of the noble family, and they are the closest people to the emperor and his old family, how could they suffer from unjustified disasters for no reason?

They don't understand that if the emperor rejects the emperor's relatives and noble families, how can he sit on the throne?

Could it be that those Wenchen who only know how to play tricks are reliable, the emperor is really confused!

To put it mildly, the emperor is destroying the Great Wall!

Shiwangfu Street, the most popular is undoubtedly the British Mansion, as evidenced by the two stone lions that are more than one person high.

At this time, in a small two-story attic near the back garden, the current British public Zhang Zhiji was wrapped in a white mink fur, talking with his son Zhang Shize.

Although the cold wind is shouting outside, it is warm as spring inside the small building.

But even so, Zhang Zhiji still feels that there are often cold winds blowing into the room, and he needs to be wrapped in a mink fur to feel the warmth on his body.

Zhang Shize, who was standing on the side, looked at his father very worriedly, his father's current physical condition is not as good as a year.

But he's not even forty years old!

Speaking of which, after the death of his grandfather Zhang Weixian, his father was not a person with good self-control, and he took drugs every night, which caused his body to collapse quickly.

"Father, my son thinks that you can't take those pills anymore, please ask the imperial doctor to take care of your body."

Zhang Shize couldn't help but whisper and persuade.

Zhang Zhiji looked at the charcoal basin on the side, smelling the fragrance of the spices after they were burned, and made his brain clear up a little.

"You don't have to care, my father is gone, just let me enjoy it, but you, what do you think about Cheng Guogong's affairs?"

Zhang Zhiji didn't raise his head and asked his son.

"Father, my British government has always been in charge of the capital, and most of the people in charge of the capital camp are mainly in my house.

It was only after his grandfather died of illness that his father was frail, so he let Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, take charge of the Beijing camp.

The British Mansion and the Chengguo Mansion have always advanced and retreated together, and they are united in their hearts, depending on the son, the father may wish to intercede with the emperor and protect the Chengguo Prince.

Funing Hou, Dong Ningbo Bo and several other in-laws have come to the door several times to ask to see their father, and like their sons, they also want their father to make suggestions to the emperor......"

"Shut up!"

When Zhang Shize was talking, he suddenly heard a scolding voice.

He subconsciously looked up and found that his father was looking at him with a pale face, and immediately fell silent.

Zhang Zhiji looked up at his son, and suddenly burst out laughing, and it took a while to stop, which made Zhang Shize a little overwhelmed.

Zhang Zhiji burst into tears and laughed until a violent cough interrupted his laughter, and Zhang Shize hurriedly stepped forward and gently patted his father's back.

After Zhang Zhiji's breathing calmed down, he said: "The Four Kingdoms of the Beijing, why didn't they look for the Duke of Dingguo and the Duke of Wei, but they found the British Mansion?" ”

"What did my father say about that?"

Zhang Shize was young after all, and he couldn't understand the reason for this for a while, and asked in surprise.

Zhang Zhiji pointed to the newspaper on the case in front of him and said, "Haven't you read the Ming Royal Weekly these days?"

For their own selfishness, several nobles occupied military camps, deducted military salaries, and intervened in salt administration to resell salt, and some even sold private salt in person.

At this time, if you don't draw a clear line between the scum of these nobles and show the position of the British Government to the emperor, do you want the emperor to think that my British government is silently expressing dissatisfaction? ”

Zhang Shize's face twitched twice, and he panicked in his heart, but he said calmly: "Father is not too worried, the emperor is extremely kind to our house."

When my grandfather was the emperor at the beginning, he led the Beijing camp to death.

It can be said that the emperor's reliance on the British government is even greater than that of the Emperor of the Apocalypse.

Is the father thinking so much now that he ......"

Zhang Zhiji suddenly sank his face with some dissatisfaction and said, "Do you still want to say that I'm old and confused?" ”

"My son doesn't dare."

Zhang Shize hurriedly confessed, but he was wondering in his heart whether his father had taken too much drugs and was abnormal.

Aren't our families doing all the of other nobles?

"Can't you see the situation clearly? The more the emperor respects our house, the more we must show our attitude.

Otherwise, wouldn't the emperor be cold? ”

Zhang Zhiji let out a long sigh, he had broken his body in the early years, but his brain was clear.

However, as the head of the nobles, he can't do martial arts, but he has to play with his head like Wenchen, but he puts the cart before the horse.

Fortunately, my son is young, only eighteen years old this year, and he is very malleable, and he can no longer let him follow his old path.

Zhang Zhiji's mentality is the same as that of parents in China for thousands of years, Lao Tzu can't do it, I hope my son can't do it.

"Funing Hou and Dong Ningbo Bo came to the door, not to ask me to intercede for Chengguogong, but to push the British Mansion out to fight with the emperor.

It's not that my father doesn't care about the common advances and retreats of the nobles over the years, but that the emperor treats his relatives and elders without affection, let alone us foreign ministers? ”

Zhang Shize defended in a low voice: "My family is different from other nobles, the Zhang Mansion and the Zhu Mansion have been loyal to the emperor for generations, and they have been in charge of the Beijing camp for a long time, how can the emperor cut off his own foundation?" ”

After listening to his son's words, Zhang Zhiji suddenly fell into deep thought, which was exactly what he couldn't understand in detail.

The emperor used a border hender who had nothing to do with Xungui to rectify the Beijing camp, but how could the influence of the nobles who had been operating in the Beijing camp for so many years be eliminated in a short period of time?

The nobles of various families planted people in the barracks, deducted military salaries, and even resold military supplies, in fact, in Zhang Zhiji's eyes, it was really not a big mistake.

In this period when the family system is rampant, whether it is a noble or a military general, the only people who can rest assured are the family members who are raised by high salaries around them.

And what is the use of ordinary soldiers in the army, except for the number of people to review the troops?

Of course, there are also uses.

In addition to being dragged by the noble generals to build houses, or by the imperial court to build city walls, palaces, imperial tombs and other major projects, there are also used to deduct military salaries.

If the salaries of these ordinary soldiers are not deducted, how can the nobles and generals afford to support their own private troops?

As for those ordinary soldiers who went to the battlefield, they could already be called strong men if they did not flee immediately.

Those who are attacked by the enemy in a wave and do not break up can be called veterans.

The situation is unfavorable, and those who can flee without abandoning the main general are even more elite soldiers.

But if you want to let the nobles or military generals take such an army to the battlefield to defend against the enemy, this is undoubtedly to send them to death.

It is precisely because of this that the military officers deduct military salaries to support their families, which is really an act of diligence in the king's affairs, and should not only not be punished, but should also be rewarded.

But now that the emperor has convulsions, or has been bewitched by someone, not only does he not win over these nobles who rely on them, but also drastically reduces the personnel of the Beijing camp.

Most of the nobles or the families of the nobles were expelled from the Beijing camp in the rectification, which couldn't help but shock and fear Zhang Zhiji.

He didn't understand a little, if the emperor rejected the noble senior military attachés, and when there was a war, who would the emperor assign to control this army?

In the emperor's capital camp reform, the British government suffered the greatest losses.

But Zhang Zhiji also knows very well that the emperor also treats the British government the most.

After Chengguo Gong was arrested, the emperor's threat of force to Xungui suddenly woke up Zhang Zhiji, who had always lived a drunken life and a dreamy life.

Especially the emperor's will of the duke, marquis, and earl, which is decreasing from generation to generation, after being implemented in Jiading Boshizi, Zhang Zhiji was completely sober.

The emperor wants to use his military exploits to confer knighthood, and completely arouse the determination of the nobles to make meritorious contributions again.

In other words, the merits of the ancestors can no longer be passed down from generation to generation.

In other words, the British government is already the top national prince, but if there is no new feats, after three generations, it will be no different from ordinary people.

That's not going to work!

However, Zhang Zhiji thought about it for a long time before finally realizing that as long as the Zhang family did not rebel, it would be impossible to resist Emperor Chongzhen's reform of Jingying.

Obviously, the Zhang family did not have the ability to rebel, nor could they turn their backs on the loyalty reputation that successive British princes had earned for their loyalty to the royal family.

Since this is the case, the only way to actively cooperate with the emperor is to do so.

Sometimes, as long as the emperor takes care of it and tilts his wrist a little, military feats are actually very easy.

Besides, the British government has been inherited for more than 200 years, and the heritage is still there.

Although there are unfilial children who eat and wait for death to enjoy like him, there are also excellent children who train hard and always want to get ahead.

After all, there are hundreds of people in the Zhangfu branch and the Yan branch, and the good and the bad exist in any family.

Now at this moment, as long as you can make meritorious contributions to the British government, who cares about the children of the concubines and grandchildren.

As long as you can keep the British government.

Of course, it would be better if the children of the descendants were promising.

Therefore, today Zhang Zhiji has to make it clear with his son Zhang Shize.

"We don't care what the emperor is thinking, our Zhang family only needs to obey the emperor's will."

Zhang Zhiji thought about it for a long time and finally made a decision.

In the past six months, he felt that the emperor was gradually alienating the British government.

In the past, although he didn't do anything in the court because of his frailty, the emperor generally had something, but he would pay a sigh.

But now, no, nothing.

Even such a major matter as the reorganization of the Beijing camp and the reduction of the knighthood, he did not summon himself to the palace in order to ask for the cooperation of the British government, which is very revealing.

"But father, if this is the case, will our Zhang Mansion and other nobles have a conflict and cause their dissatisfaction?"

Zhang Shize asked in a low voice.

To be honest, Zhang Shize was also resistant to Emperor Chongzhen's approach.

Because, Emperor Chongzhen's approach itself is against the entire Xungui group.

As the future Duke of England, for the sake of the interests of the family, he actually agreed with the suggestions of Funing Hou, Dong Ningbo Bo and others to keep the Duke of Chengguo.

Of course, he also knew that keeping Chengguo Gong was just an excuse, and the purpose was to regain control of Jingying.

After all, for more than 200 years, the capital of the five armies has been the capital of the palace and the Beijing camp, and it has always been the self-retention place for the children of the nobles.

Others, others are gone.

They were all snatched away by the hateful civil officials.

"Confused! Do you want to go against the emperor in order not to conflict with other nobles? Have you thought about the consequences? ”

Zhang Zhiji's face turned red, stared at Zhang Shize tightly, and said heavily.

Zhang Shize suddenly felt a little bad, and he didn't think about going against the emperor. consequences, then even less thought about.

As an eighteen-year-old boy, where did he think so deeply?

It's just that he has always been good friends with other noble children, and he is young and always feels that he is a friend, and many of them are cousins and cousins, so they should naturally stand together.

"Father, then if we don't do anything, the emperor shouldn't do anything to the Zhang family, right?"

If you don't help each other, no one will be offended!

This is the idea of young Zhang Gongzi.

"The grass on the wall falls on both sides, and the wind is strong on that side and the other side falls. Isn't it? ”

Zhang Zhiji squinted his eyes, looked at his son who was a little uneasy, and couldn't help but lament in his heart, the ancestors Zhang Yu and Zhang Fu started in the Battle of Jingyan, and they had great military exploits, even Emperor Chengzu had to praise him, strong and brave.

But when it came to their father and son, they had become submissive gatekeepers.

No, it has to change.

Think about it, if even their British mansion is like this, what about the other nobles?

At this moment, Zhang Zhiji understood what Emperor Chongzhen meant.

"You have to understand that if our ancestors were to be wall grass, then the Zhang family would not have been rich for more than two hundred years.

Although the emperor will not do anything because we don't do anything, the tradition of the Zhang family's loyalty to the emperor for generations will also be cut off in our hands.

And the father also believes that the wealth of the descendants of the Zhang family has come to an end. ”

Zhang Zhiji said this very softly, very quietly, but very firmly.

He is educating Zhang Shize, and this is also a sentence passed down by his father Zhang Weixian from his father's father.

Hearing his father's bland words, Zhang Shize was even more scared than hearing his father's stern reprimand, cold sweat instantly gushed out, and he knelt on the floor with a puff, "My son is wrong!" ”

Seeing his son's attitude, Zhang Zhi smiled with relief, he cleared his throat and said, "If you abolish one person for your father, the Zhang family will rely on you."

Tomorrow, our father and son will enter the palace to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor.

Do you remember that we had five granges in the capital? The other four were presented to the emperor as New Year's greetings.

By the way, you will go down and ask the housekeeper later, how much salt we have in our hands, and hand it over to the emperor tomorrow.

You yourself are also ready to prepare, bring all the children of the Zhang Mansion, regardless of their concubines, to the Beijing camp to fight for military merits and keep the British Mansion. ”

"Yes, Father!" Zhang Shize, who was connected, bowed his head and respectfully agreed.

"Get up." The son figured it out, Zhang Zhiji was very pleased, and Wen Sheng explained to him the purpose of doing this, "My father has made me rich and prosperous all my life because of his support."

But his father has no merits in his life, only exchanging his wealth for the emperor's favor.

As for your riches, it is up to you to earn them.

You must understand that as long as you get the emperor's favor, a little money and things, but Fuyuner!

This is also the reason why we, the British Commonwealth, are the most powerful of all the nobles, but have the least wealth.

You can't win 'em all! ”