"The last general thinks it's impossible," Zhou Dongtian knew that Xu Ping might not have much hope, but he still broke Xu Ping's wishful thinking without hesitation: "The court will not agree, the lord said that if you are not unified, you will not be called the emperor, and to negotiate peace is to make the lord not come to the stage, and the Duke of Qi is not a person who is partial to peace." ”

"Well, it's true that I said it doesn't count." Although Xu Ping wanted to persuade Li Zicheng and Huangshi, he also knew that there was little hope, and he would not agree if he didn't hit Quanzhou Huangshi, and Li Zicheng wouldn't agree to hit Quanzhou, and vice versa: "At present, the only way to do this is to continue to persevere, if there is no progress in Nanming for ten or eight years, maybe Duke Qi will agree." ”

"The Admiral is very skeptical." Zhou Dongtian felt that the situation of not ending up had been achieved, even if there was no progress, Huangshi would not agree to secession and separation, and if the Shunting court continued to develop according to the current situation of intrigue, the national strength would become weaker and weaker.

"Not necessarily," Xu Ping's confidence was slightly more sufficient than Zhou Dongtian's: "We have no shortage of problems in Nanming, and they will be more serious." ”

The south is richer than the north, so Xu Ping feels that the south will be more corrupted, and the recent southern army has not stormed Jiangbei has also deepened Xu Ping's judgment, the other party has just obtained a large territory but did not take advantage of this sharp spirit to kill, which may lead to the other party slack, and the generals who have made military achievements are content with pleasure and are immersed in honor and cannot extricate themselves.

When Xu Ping and Zhou Dongtian were discussing how long it would take to hold on until Nanming lost his sharpness and enterprising spirit, Chen Zhe came to report to Xu Ping in a hurry: "Huguang is urgent, the Ming army is concentrating on Xiangyang, and the attack on Jiangbei is imminent. ”

This report made Xu Ping fall silent again, he had been overwhelmed recently, and he had not been ready for Huguang's containment and coordinated operations.

"If the entire Huguang and the Yangtze River are lost, the Ming army will threaten Henan and Sichuan," Zhou Dongtian had just heard Xu Ping say that he would persevere, and now the Ming army launched a new round of attacks: "King Li Jin and Yu Hou must repel the Ming army, at least let them pay a heavy price, if they take Huguang lightly, it will greatly encourage the morale of the Ming army, and they will be determined to seize the Central Plains." ”

"Of course, and it seems that the Ming army in Jiangnan is also going to storm us." Chen Zhe felt that the situation was becoming more and more sinister, and the only belief now was what Xu Ping called the darkness before the dawn: Nanming would suffer from indigestion due to the explosion of territory, and Nanming's officialdom and military would divide the benefits, becoming the same as the previous Chongzhen Dynasty - because the society was in danger at the beginning, Nanming miraculously gushed out an explosive force, and this explosive force would also begin to disappear because of the improvement of the situation (especially the recapture of Nanjing). But before Xu Ping's prophecy came true, Chen Zhe knew that he had to resist: "Don't blame your subordinates for talking too much, now you must make peace with the villains in the DPRK and China, otherwise Dashun will be in danger." ”

Zhou Dongtian also held the same view: "If you can't come to the shore, you have to go to the shore." If they are unwilling to put the country first, then the adults must put the overall situation of the country first. ”

"Does putting the overall situation of the country first mean deducting military salaries and then satisfying those officials who have insatiable desires?" Xu Ping's rhetorical tone was full of disdain.

"Yes." Chen Zhe and Zhou Dongtian responded at the same time.

Then Zhou Dongtian also added: "In fact, they don't have the courage to fight the adults to the end, as long as the adults take a step back a little and let them have a step down, then most of them will understand this matter." Zhou Dongtian also suggested that Xu Ping admit a petty crime such as negligence and admit that there were some management mistakes, so that the Beijing officials who came to verify also have a step down, and now Xu Ping is-for-tat hard, causing the other party to become nowhere to retreat - making such a big move, if there is no problem, the departments will not be able to take responsibility.

"Cao Cao cut the grain officer?" Xu Ping asked with a sneer, Zhou Dongtian's meaning sounded similar to Cao Cao's method of borrowing someone's head, throwing out an inconspicuous little character as a scapegoat to ease his relationship with various ministries of the imperial court, to which Xu Ping categorically refused: "I can't frame anyone who works diligently for the country." ”

"Brother Zhou probably remembers that in Shandong, Hou Xun asked us to go to Tucun, right?" Without waiting for Zhou Dongtian to persuade again, Xu Ping said in a categorical tone: "That time I did something unconscionable for my personal safety, and I can't defend myself in the Netherworld in the future, but I know that I am wrong, I will not do it again." ”

In the face of such a stubborn Xu Ping, Zhou Dongtian was speechless, and Chen Zhe tried to persuade again: "Adults should put the country first." ”

"I just put the country first, and the survival of the country is the army first, why hasn't our army changed like the former Ming army?" Xu Ping's gaze swept over the faces of the two subordinates, and he said proudly: "Because of me!" Because I insist on fair rewards and punishments, I don't take any of them, and there will be no problem of crooked upper beams and crooked lower beams; I have never deducted a military salary, never eaten an empty salary, so no one below dares to do so; I will not be soft on punishment because I have a clear conscience, and my subordinates will not be soft on their ink-hungry subordinates because they are the same as me. Hou Ye...... Wrong, this is how the Immortal Army of Qi Gong was destroyed, and since I have rebuilt it, I swear that I will not let the Immortal Army repeat the mistakes of the past again. And don't say anything stupid about taking a step back, I've only heard of inching in, and it's hard to fill the desires, and I've never heard of corrupt officials being self-disciplined, if I nod my head and relax today, and sacrifice my diligent subordinates to help the soldiers step down, then it will become more and more desperate in the future. No! I won't take a step back. ”

Xu Ping is collecting materials and preparing to impeach the inspectors of the Ministry of War, the superior officials of these inspectors, and the high-ranking officials who govern these higher-level officials for being incompetent, and even planning to impeach the Prime Minister's Office and the current Prime Minister Niu Jinxing for being deaf and incompetent.

This kind of ambition made Chen Zhe's face turn white, when Xu Ping ordered them to start collecting materials, Chen Zhe thought that Xu Ping was planning to defend himself or use it to bargain, and he didn't expect that the other party was planning to completely fight back.

Zhou Dongtian believes that this kind of impeachment will not succeed at all, and the scope of implication is too wide: "If you want to talk about responsibility, then the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of Officials are all inextricably linked, and Prime Minister Niu and the four Shangshu and hundreds of officials will be implicated." Seeing that Xu Ping's expression was still the same, Zhou Dongtian shouted: "My lord, the law does not blame the public. Do you want to impeach them all? ”

"Since they can't get out of it, let's impeach."

When Xu Ping said this lightly, both Zhou Dongtian and Chen Zhe saw a ruthless coldness on his face.

"This ...... I'm afraid the Prime Minister's Office will not accept this impeachment. Zhou Dongtian felt that the Prime Minister's Mansion would only submit this kind of impeachment of all the court officials to Li Zicheng if he was crazy, and Dashun was different from the Ming Dynasty, which had to be presented to the Prime Minister's Mansion first, and then the Prime Minister would submit the most important and bad issues to the Shun Lord. In the past, every time Xu Ping made trouble, Niu Jinxing didn't want to be charged with concealing Shengcong, so he didn't stop it, but this doesn't mean that he doesn't have the opportunity to do so, if he doesn't hide Xu Ping's performance, the harm caused by Xu Ping's performance is far higher than the harm caused by concealing him, and the Prime Minister's Mansion is likely to reject it directly.

"It's okay if you don't accept it," Xu Ping showed a hint of a smile, but Zhou Dongtian and Chen Zhe felt that the cold expression on his face became stronger and stronger: "I just thought about it, I really can't think about it from a military point of view, I want Wang Taisun to bring a copy of my impeachment recital back to Beijing, if the Prime Minister's Mansion rejects my recital, haha, it would be better." Xu Ping laughed: "That will only make my impeachment more powerful." ”

Of course, Xu Ping alone couldn't complete all the work, he explained the overall idea to Chen Zhe and Zhou Dongtian as if he was making a battle plan, and asked the two of them to implement it according to their own plans, and finally Xu Ping also explained: "Don't leak the news, the people below don't need to know what I'm going to do, I'm going to catch them off guard." ”

Seeing that there was still doubt on the faces of the two most reliable henchmen, Xu Ping continued to cheer them up, and at the same time explained his decision: "I often have a feeling that I am now like falling into an endless big spider web, my hands and feet are all bound by dense spider silk, so that I can't use my strength to use my empty body, only by cutting off all these spider silks can we show our strength, and we actually have this ability, we don't need to fall deeper and deeper." In addition, Xu Ping felt that he was attracting firepower, and he could also share the pressure for Li Dingguo and Yu Shenhe in Huguang: "If I can't stand it, King Li Jin and Yu Hou will be tied tightly by this overwhelming spider web, and they don't know what they will be bullied into, so I have to win this battle for myself and others!" ”

"Yes, my lord." After hearing Xu Ping's order, Zhou Dongtian and Chen Zhe bowed deeply at the same time, and assured the commander: "Do your subordinates dare to do their best? ”

For Xu Ping, this complicated interpersonal relationship is a spider web, binding his wings and preventing him from flying freely, but for Chen Zhe, he has a good relationship with many officials in the imperial court, exchanging intelligence and information with each other. For the spider, although this web also confines it, when it no longer tries to leave this small space, this web is its source of information, the guarantee of survival, and the spider cannot imagine what fate awaits it after losing this web.

After leaving Xu Ping's barracks, Chen Zhe thought for a long time, maybe Xu Ping would win this battle, and he could stand by Xu Ping's side to share freedom and glory - Xu Ping's move was undoubtedly a declaration of war on all the bureaucrats, even if the entire Prime Minister's Mansion and four of the six ministries were replaced, the future bureaucrats would still remember what Chen Zhe did to assist Xu Ping today. Moreover, Chen Zhe will lose all his network, and the new officials in the future will be people he knows nothing about, and even if he can rebuild his relationship with them and re-cultivate his relationship with them, Chen Zhe will have to spend a lot of money - this is still based on the premise that Xu Ping won this battle, and if Xu Ping loses the battle, he will have nothing in the blink of an eye.

In the end, Chen Zhe decided to convince Zhou Dongtian that he didn't want Xu Ping to have a showdown with the entire Dashun bureaucracy.

"When an adult says, 'Since you can't get out of the relationship, let's impeach.'" Do you know who I'm thinking of? After meeting in private, Chen Zhe asked.

"Who?"

"Ming Taizu Zhu Hongwu, empty seal case!" Chen Zhe said that the empty seal case refers to: stamping the blank official documents in advance to facilitate the falsification of data by officials at all levels and localities, Zhu Yuanzhang was implicated in more than 10,000 officials when he learned of this matter, and everyone thought that he would punish the first servant or a few who committed a heinous crime to kill chickens and monkeys, but Zhu Yuanzhang said - since they are all involved, then kill them all.

"I'm afraid that the impeachment of this adult will also implicate tens of thousands, right?" Chen Zhe said to Zhou Dongtian: "Ming Taizu is the emperor, so he can naturally do whatever he wants, but can he do it?" Even if the Lord knew that what the Lord said was true, he would never dismiss tens of thousands of officials in the imperial court because of the impeachment of the Lord, right? What did the court hear about in the future? Is it the great shun of the Lord or the great shun of the adults? ”

Zhou Dongtian listened silently.

"If you fight a snake, you won't die, but you will suffer from it." Chen Zhe shook his head violently and analyzed it for Zhou Dongtian, he thought: Even if Li Zicheng gives Xu Ping this face, dismisses a large number of officials, and punishes more people, most of them will definitely still be in power, and they will remember this insult and do their best to take revenge on Xu Ping - especially Xu Ping is not a sacrosanct Son of Heaven. (In fact, if this goal can be achieved, Xu Ping can also be satisfied, as long as he can repel the shackles, even if it is temporary and incomplete, he will accept it, but Chen Zhe can't accept it, his ambition is not to retire and return to his hometown.) ）

"Adults are indeed a little impatient." Zhou Dongtian sighed, as chief of staff, he rarely needs to make up his own mind but obeys the determination of his superiors, which makes Zhou Dongtian have something in common with most bureaucrats, that is, they have a sense of fear of great responsibility, and they do not like the situation to become completely out of control or unpredictable.

Xu Ping is trying to win a complete and complete victory, to completely solve the problems that have arisen in the officialdom of Dashun for many years, this kind of courage Zhou Dongtian has seen many times on the battlefield in the past, but there is no precedent for application in officialdom, Zhou Dongtian does not know what the situation will be like after Xu Ping's big victory, and whether it will really bring great benefits as Xu Ping expected - maybe it is unprecedented chaos.

"We can't watch adults make irreparable mistakes," Chen Zhe felt that the time had come, so he confessed his plan to Zhou Dongtian: "We have to breathe to the Prime Minister's Mansion, as long as the Prime Minister understands the courage of the general, the Prime Minister will naturally take the first step back." ”

Zhou Dongtian groaned and didn't speak, but Chen Zhe saw that the other party was not very disgusted with his proposal: "And you can't let the prince go to the lord with the adult's recital, this will hurt the adult, and the lord will completely lose his trust in the adult, and even think that the adult is bewitching the grandson and has no ambition." ”

……

Hangzhou,

Looking at the silver trail of the ball in the air until its end, Yellowstone waved his club and leisurely walked to the flagstick – a grand ambition to finally become a reality when he bought a large lawn on the shore of West Lake and turned it into a private golf course.

After inventing various sets of golf equipment and a full set of rules in Fujian, Huang Shi taught himself the golf he imitated by impressions while trying to develop other enthusiasts. Now that Yellowstone thinks he's played well, how can he poke the ball in within a hundred; At the same time, he also developed a lot of enthusiasts, but these delegates to the Constituent Assembly are currently staying in Nanjing, and they are busy electing the first person to be the temporary first assistant - the Constituent Assembly has not yet figured out how to make a constitution on the position of the monarch, and give this position to His Majesty the Prison State, they are not willing to estimate the future revision of the constitution, and Huangshi believes that it is not the best time to usurp the throne, so he does not want to end the constitution, and there are some constitutions that have not been negotiated, or they have been discussed well, but they are worried about Huangshi's reaction, so the Constituent Assembly is still hesitating. Now that the Constituent Assembly has been elected once, and has actually assumed the responsibilities of the House of Secretaries, they do not intend to leave the position of the first assistant vacant, but to appoint a temporary first assistant in accordance with the future formal election method.

"Daddy." The son-in-law of the Huang family followed behind his father, and he was already at the age when he began to be interested in national affairs: "I heard that Jianghuai's Shun army is ready to move again." ”

"Oh." Yellowstone didn't react, and was concentrating on how to find the ball in the pond and hit it.

Seeing that his father didn't seem to care or worry about this at all, Huangshi's youngest son seemed a little strange.

"Xu Ping can't do anything, I guess he is almost now bound by countless ropes and can't move, cutting and sorting out a mess." Huang Shi remembered that he was surrounded by minefields before, and he didn't know anything, he couldn't do anything, so he could only watch the situation become a mess: "Emperor Taizu Gao of the Ming Dynasty slashed and killed indiscriminately all his life, and in the end he still achieved nothing," Huang Shi remembered that Zhu Yuanzhang killed to the point that the officials were not enough, peeling the skin and filling the grass, and the plants were all over the door without using it, but the Ming officialdom was still greedy, and the first list of Jinshi was all down within three years, and the next list was the same: "I was also tied up half to death back then, well, no, It was almost strangled to death, and the things that were explained clearly, and the people below also agreed, no, it was a gambling curse and an oath, but it was unrecognizable. Even if I know that something went wrong, I can't find out who made the mistake or when, and I'm not even sure if it's true or false. Huang Shi explained to his son while swinging his club to catch the ball: "Xu Ping has to repeat my mistake and didn't run." ”

Finally, Huang Shi swung hard, the white ball jumped out of the water, and returned to the lawn briskly, Huang Shi let out a long breath, as if talking to himself and as if to say to his son: "When I see Xu Ping, I will think of me before, but now I have finally crawled out of that mess, and he is still in it, and he will stay for a long, long time." ”

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