"The people in Nanjing have moved more than 100,000 people, and the people in the city are less than 1.6 million ......."

On the fifth day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhu Youzhen got the news from Nanjing sent by Zhu Youxiao.

He only read the beginning of the message, and he didn't read out the rest of the message.

Because at this moment, he needs to look up at the group of ministers in front of him.

"Chen Qiyu, Zhou Yanru!"

"The lower official is in the ......"

When Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth to read out the names of Chen Qiyu and Zhou Yanru, at this moment, Sun Chengzong and others in the carrying hall of the Qi Palace, a bad premonition appeared in their hearts.

"Soldiers and horses, isn't the government mainly responsible for managing the security of the city? Do they need to do it now to drive out the hungry? My Ming Dynasty is really unavailable......"

As soon as Zhu Youzhen spoke, Chen Qiyu and Zhou Yanru admitted it.

They didn't know anything about the soldiers and horses and the servants driving out the hungry people in the city, and this time they were dragged down again.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty doesn't know ......"

"Your Highness, the lower officials don't know ......"

Chen Qiyu and Zhou Yanru sat in their positions, honestly said that they didn't know about this matter, and put aside the relationship and said:

"The soldiers and horses of Nanjing City and Nanzhili are all under the responsibility of the Nanjing Military Department and the Nanjing Criminal Department, and the Northern Zhili has no right to govern."

The topic came to the Ming Dynasty's two-capital system, which made people feel a little tricky.

But that's someone else, not him.

"Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting......"

"The lower official is here."

As soon as the matter came to Nanzhili, everyone knew that Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou were going to be involved, because one of them was the acting leader of the Nanjing Military Department, and the other was the acting leader of the Nanjing Ministry of Officials.

"Originally waiting here for ......"

Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren narrowed their eyes, it seemed that Zhu Youzhen didn't know about Nanjing's affairs, but Zhu Youzhen was going to hand over Nanjing's affairs to Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou.

This thing is done, maybe it is when they serve as the first assistant and the second assistant.

Sun Chuanting said that he was still the same unsmiling appearance, but although Hong Chengchou's face was neither sad nor joyful, Zhou Yanru could feel his joy.

For them, if Hong Chengchou is the first assistant, they can still accept it, but if it is Sun Chuanting, it will not work......

What did Sun Chuanting do, can everyone in the world still remember......

Thinking of this, Zhou Yanru and the others looked at Sun Chuanting, and Zhu Youzhen also said:

"The two of you went to Nanzhili to inspect and rectify the local officials, and there must be no mistakes!"

"The Decree of the Lower Commander ......"

Zhu Youzhen transgressed, and when there was an emperor and a prison in the Ming Dynasty, he actually directly issued an order to transfer the cabinet ministers as a vassal king, which is probably the first time in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

"Lone will inspect all provinces in the world after the first day of the twenty-third year of the Apocalypse, and take the winter solstice in the twenty-third year of the Apocalypse, and the cabinet will announce it to the world!"

Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth instantly, catching everyone off guard.

What's more, he didn't give everyone time to react, and after speaking, he got up and signaled to leave.

In this process, everyone's hearts were shaken, especially Chengde, who was sitting among the ministers, tightly clutched the hem of his clothes, obviously feeling very uncomfortable.

"Xiaguan...... Decree. ”

Hearing that Zhu Youzhen was going to be a vassal, Sun Chengzong, as the first assistant of the cabinet, felt very uncomfortable.

It is true that he is the Donglin Party, but he is a doer in Donglin, and he is not treated well by other Donglin Wenchen who pay attention to literary talents.

Although he survived the purge of the party by the two Zhu Youxiao brothers, he was in constant fear until he was appointed chief assistant to the cabinet, and he breathed a sigh of relief a little.

He knew that Zhu Youzhen's letting him be the elder of the pavilion was just a transition, and the purpose was to pave the way for Hong Chengchou and others.

In this regard, he has no complaints, after all, he thinks that no matter what Zhu Youzhen does, it is for the people of the world.

It's just that right now, the burden of the Ming Dynasty is still very heavy, and his disciple and his child can't afford to carry such a heavy burden.

Just one natural disaster was enough to crush the Ming Dynasty......

Zhu Youzhen took the lead in leaving the carrier hall, and his behavior was more like running away, so that everyone didn't know how to express it.

"Is there really a person in the world who is not greedy for power?" Even a powerful person like Wen Tiren can't help but be a little in a trance.

He knew that if this news spread, except for some Yanshan faction officials who were loyal to the King of Qi, most of the officials would celebrate with crowns to celebrate the inauguration of the King of Qi.

"I'm afraid the price of alcohol in the capital is going to rise......"

With a sigh, Wen Tiren left the Carrier Hall first, and with him left, there were other officials with their heads bowed.

Whether it is Sun Chengzong, Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, Chen Qiyu, Zhou Yanru, Li Changgeng, Chengde, or Cao Huachun who is guarding the carrier hall......

In short, there is a sense of unreality in everyone.

Zhu Youzhen, the king of Qi, who couldn't fight for so many years, finally announced that he was leaving?

Could this be a false move, and then another big eucalyptus brewing?

Everyone was in a trance, and in the end, they didn't know how they got out of the Qi Palace, how they got home, and how they changed their clothes......

For example, Sun Chuanting, when he came back to his senses, it was already completely dark.

"I'm afraid this won't be so easy......"

As Sun Chuanting's staff member and the current Ming Dynasty's military department Zuo Shilang, Zhou Yan thought for a long time, and then confessed to Sun Chuanting, who came back to his senses:

"I've been in the capital for so long, and I haven't seen anything else, but those officials of the Shan Yanshan faction who are in groups can see them every day."

"Xia Guan once flipped through the documents of the Ministry of War, and only then did he find that the generals of the 600,000 soldiers and horses of the National Dynasty were all generals related to the Yanshan faction."

"This is only the Soldiers and Horses Division, and the subordinate suspects that the situation in the army and the officials is more serious than this."

Zhou Ji said what he had seen for so long.

For some people, it seems that they can understand these things as long as they open their mouths, such as Zhu Youzhen.

But the problem is that the people below will also deceive the upper and lower levels, and these are the reasons why Jinyiwei did not report internal corruption.

It is not difficult to sort out the relationship between the yamen, but it is difficult to sort out the relationship between each person.

"In your opinion, how powerful are the officials of the Yanshan faction?"

Sun Chuanting felt that the matter was tricky, 600,000 soldiers and horses, this is not a small number.

He questioned Zhou Miao, and in the face of his inquiry, Zhou Mi frowned even more and said:

"Xia Guan has investigated for a few years, and the development of this Yanshan faction has so far, and it is no longer a simple Yanshan school that comes out of the relationship between the Yanshan faction."

"After the closure of Yanshan Academy, Yanshan officials have begun to plan how to obtain fresh blood."

"The simplest and most direct way is to train from government education."

"Since the teaching and learning of the official school are basically the teaching and learning from Yanshan, it is easy for them to instill their own ideas into the students below."

"Isn't this practice explicitly forbidden by His Royal Highness the King of Qi?" Sun Chuanting couldn't help but clench his fists.

"It's expressly forbidden." Zhou Yi nodded in approval, but then said:

"According to the lower officials, the Jinyi Guards who are responsible for supervision in the official school have long been replaced."

"Not to mention the people below, it is the Yamen of the Fusi of Jinyi Wei Nanbei Town, and it is difficult to say whether the Yanshan faction took the initiative to support all the officials who have some power at the moment."

"Their people are everywhere, and each yamen has its own people."

"If they want to cultivate a brocade guard, they just need to keep feeding the credit."

"The easiest credit for this is that the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate handed over the news to Jinyiwei, and Jinyiwei played it, and then the Suppression Division ordered an investigation."

"The officials of the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Fourth Division of Jinyiwei shot together, and it was enough to give the credit to the officials of Jinyiwei in the end."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yi regretted: "The power of the lower officials is insufficient, and they can't investigate the news of the other six ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Jinyiwei, so they can only learn about it here." ”

"I know......" Hearing Zhou Yi say that he could only understand this, Sun Chuanting understood that the relationship network compiled by the Yanshan faction was probably not as small as they imagined.

"Over the years, there have been many officials of the Yanshan faction who have been arrested, but they have never been involved in the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Chengde, Li Demao, and Zhang Maocai."

Sun Chuanting thought that compared with the parties, the Yanshan faction has indeed been much more honest and stable in recent years, and it seems that many corrupt officials have been found by Jinyiwei every year.

On the surface, it seems that this is a manifestation of the blow suffered by the Yanshan faction, and it is also a manifestation of their current malaise.

But is it really what they see with their eyes?

"Do you think Your Highness knows about this matter?"

Sun Chuanting asked Zhou Yi, but in the face of this question, Zhou Yi also seemed a little hesitant.

The two sat in the study, and the dim candle flame from the oil lamp made them silent for a moment.

After a while, Zhou Ji hesitated and said: "In the past, Emperor Taizu Gao, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty and other majestic kings would all be deceived by others, let alone His Royal Highness?" ”

"Although His Highness often walks around the people, his news still comes from the brocade guards and the imperial horse supervisors, as well as the oral accounts of the people around him."

"If any of these oral messages are false, then ......"

Zhou Yan didn't dare to say any more, but Sun Chuanting couldn't sit still and stood up.

He turned around and wanted to take a step, but stopped again, turned to look at Zhou Wei:

"You don't have to check it yourself, write a handwritten letter and send it back to Zhenwu, and let the children of the family go to various places to check the situation of officialdom in various places."

"Yes...... If they don't have an official identity, how should they check? Zhou Yi was a little puzzled, but Sun Chuanting squinted his eyes:

"Thieves start in the countryside, and if you want to investigate, you must first investigate from the township!"

——————

"His Royal Highness the King of Qi is going to be a vassal......"

Back in the mansion, when Hong Chengchou opened his mouth to say this, a young man guarding the mansion couldn't help but be stunned.

"Where did Master Hou hear that?" The young man couldn't help but ask, but Hong Chengchou sat on the main seat of the hall, and then stroked his beard and said, "Your Highness said it in front of us personally. ”

"In addition, His Royal Highness also transferred me and Sun Chuanting to Nanzhili to rectify the rule of officials."

"I came to you because I am fascinated by the authorities at the moment, and you are a bystander, and you may be able to give me some explanations."

It's not that Hong Chengchou can't analyze, it's that he is not good at analyzing his own affairs.

If he uses his own thinking to think about Zhu Youzhen's arrangement, it is like "the hunter cages the rabbit, and the rabbit drills into the cage".

He wants to use the ideas of others to see what Zhu Youzhen's arrangement is for in the eyes of others.

Faced with this question, the young man replied without hesitation: "Maybe it's the sound of the east and the west." ”

"Sound from east to west? What does this mean? Hong Chengchou looked displeased, but the young man said:

"If it's just a rectification of the rule of officials, then there is no need for His Highness to announce the rectification of the two officials at this juncture."

"At present, this matter, this arrangement, others may think that His Highness is preparing for the promotion of the two, and specially gave the two merits."

"But the current problem is whether the two of you can enter the cabinet?"

"Is there a party in Da Ming at the moment, and how powerful the party is, Master Hou should know better than me."

After the young man finished speaking, he immediately returned the salute to indicate the end.

His words made Hong Chengchou suspicious, but he thought about it carefully and came up with more things than young people.

Faced with the answers that appeared in his mind, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but squint:

"You mean, Your Highness is going to clean up the Yanshan faction this year?"

"But now that the Yanshan faction is strong, how should we clean it up?"

"Nature is from within!" The young man's unthinking answer:

"I have seen His Highness's previous shots, unless it is the officials themselves who lead out the big eucalyptus, otherwise every time His Highness makes a move, he often attacks the west, and then disintegrates and splits its interior to achieve its own goals."

"In the first year of the Apocalypse, the sound of the east and the west of the sound of the east was the Donglin Party's thorough investigation of the Huaibei hunger, and the "west" of the west was the Teng Xiang four guards of the imperial horse supervisor. ”

"When the farce of Huaibei hunger is over, His Highness has already trained Teng Xiang Siwei."

"After that, when the White Lotus Sect rebelled, His Highness personally led the troops to quell the rebellion."

This sound of the east is the prince leading the troops to quell the rebellion, but the "west" of attacking the west is to contain the feudal domains and at the same time unite the feudal domains, reach an alliance with the feudal domains, earn money and land from the feudal domains, and solve the problem of insufficient internal funds to raise troops. ”

"From now on, no matter who the opponent is, His Highness will be playing this hand."

"All officials can understand it, but no one knows when His Highness will 'sound the east' and when he will 'hit the west', and what the west of the 'west' will be."

When the young man had finished his opinion, he then confirmed:

"Right now, I'm afraid Your Highness is going to start this method again......"

"But......" The young man hesitated for a moment, then said cautiously:

"As Hou Ye said, the power of the Yanshan faction is huge, and no matter how you start, it will affect all parties."

"Besides, the current drought still exists, and no one can say whether the drought will be more serious next year, so it is very inappropriate to do it at this juncture."

"Hmm......" Hong Chengchou responded, but he said unusually: "It is precisely because everyone feels that it is inappropriate to do it at this time, that His Highness is more likely to do it at this time." ”

After combing by the young people, Hong Chengchou was already sure that Zhu Youzhen would do it, and even roughly guessed when he would do it.

"Master Hou, I think it's better for us not to act rashly, just need to complete the "Shengdong" thing. ”

The young man spoke, which is also in line with Hong Chengchou's consistent character.

In the absence of certainty that the emperor and the crown prince can provoke the Liang, and the king of Qi can solve the Yanshan faction, being a neutral faction is what he has to do.

It's just that it's not easy to be neutral, and if neutrality is really just stupid and doesn't care about anything, then when a faction gains power, the first to clean up is the neutral person.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou stroked his beard, stood in place and thought about it before speaking:

"Let my family send a letter to the capital, and I must arrive in the capital when I am already on the way to Nanjing."

"You don't have to go to the cabinet and the ministry, you just need to cry at the door of the mansion, saying that my mother is seriously ill and ask me to return home to take care of it."

"In addition, the people in the house, except for a few children who went to see the house, all the others went south to Nanjing with me, making the illusion of living in Nanjing for a long time."

"In the end, let our people in the Ministry of Rites and the Metropolitan Procuratorate take the initiative to write and ask the prison country to allow me to go home to worry."

Hong Chengchou finished his thoughts, but the young man was puzzled:

"Lord Hou, these actions are just to help His Highness Shengdong, but if His Highness can't solve the Yanshan faction, then Lord Hou, you will be in trouble."

Zhu Youzhen can leave and is busy, but Hong Chengchou is very difficult, once Zhu Youzhen can't press the Yanshan faction to death, then the Yanshan faction will inevitably seek an opportunity to press Hong Chengchou to death.

Such a desperate behavior does not seem to be in line with Hong Chengchou's character and style.

The young people were very puzzled, but Hong Chengchou said suddenly:

"It's not that hard, I'll tell you later......"

As he spoke, Hong Chengchou walked to the desk and rummaged through a book of officials who had been promoted to officials.

In front of the young people, he wrote on it the words "Shanxi Tianqi Seventeenth Year Official School Leader Yu Jackie Chan", and then looked up and said to Jackie Chan:

"I'm going to Nanjing for refuge, and you should do the same, but your place is not Nanjing, and where you go depends on how the officials arrange it."

"Xie Hou Ye Longen!" Seeing that he was recommended by Hong Chengchou, Yu Jackie Chan immediately knelt down and expressed his gratitude with a big gift.

After a while, he stood up, but he was still worried about Hong Chengchou and said, "Although you have a way, Master Hou, you are still worried about ...... below."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Hong Chengchou smiled when he heard this.

Obviously, he already has a certainty in his heart that he can keep himself out of this turmoil.

——————

"It's not right......"

When Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting both sensed that something was wrong, a voice sounded in the Ming Shifang.

On the eve of the storm, if someone is neutral and someone supports, then naturally there will be people who resist and some people who speculate.

There are many smart people in the Ming Dynasty, and it just so happens that the smartest group of people at the moment have been pulled to the capital by Zhu Youzhen.

In the mansion of Ming Shifang, Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren and Feng Quan had a long talk about today's events.

They also wanted Feng Quan to analyze the two of them with the attitude of a bystander, but Feng Quan did not live up to hope, and immediately shook his head and said that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren frowned, Feng Quan couldn't sit still, got up, and kept speaking while walking back and forth:

"I don't know what's wrong, but I know it's not his way of doing things."

"As long as it's not his way of doing things, then there must be something wrong with this matter."

"There is only one force that can make him change his way of doing things."

Feng Quan looked at the two of them, and Wen Tiren blurted out between his eyes: "You mean Chengde them?" ”

"There is no one else but them!" Feng Quan said firmly:

"Not to mention whether King Qi will do it, just today's King Qi said that the twenty-third year of the Apocalypse will be a vassal is enough for Chengde to make a move first!"

"What they think, you know better than I do, it's impossible not to know."

"More than two years, it's not too long, it's not short, and if you want to plan, you can only plan as soon as possible."

"What we have to do is to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, wait for the tiger to decline, and fight for prey."

Feng Quan was a little excited, after all, their old party had been suppressed for too long, and this time, as the Yanshan faction of the reform force, and the leader of the reform force, Zhu Youzhen, the king of Qi, was in civil strife, which was just right for them to profit from it.

If it is not profitable, in the current situation of the old school, it may not take 30 years to be swept into the garbage heap.

"Chengde should know about this, he's not a fool."

Wen Tiren reacted and thought of Chengde's reaction.

"He's naturally not a fool, but it's hard to say whether he can fight the King of Qi or not." Zhou Yanru opened his mouth without thinking, and then frowned:

"The Yanshan faction is powerful, if there is a conflict with the King of Qi, then the Ming ......"

As soon as the words were spoken, there was a sudden silence in the study.

They do want to make a profit, but they don't want the order of the Ming Dynasty to be disrupted.

At present, their group of conservatives did not have the support of the gentry, although it was somewhat difficult, but it was much more convenient to act.

Besides, at the moment, their lives are quite nourishing, if the Ming Dynasty is really in civil strife, then even if they are in a high position, I am afraid they will not escape death.

The Ming Dynasty can be chaotic, but it must be controlled well, and if one is not controlled well, it will be a rebellion in Anshi.

"King Qi is setting himself on fire......"

"It's okay for the Yanshan faction to stay."

In the face of troubled times, Feng Quan and Wen Tiren couldn't help but open their mouths and changed their style of speech.

In the face of their words, Zhou Yanru's face was cloudy, obviously he didn't even know what to say.

The power of the old faction only stays in the temple, which is different from the Qi Wangfu and the Yanshan faction in terms of troops, temples, and finances.

Not to mention them, even if they pull Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, and Sun Chengzong, I'm afraid it won't be enough for the Yanshan faction to drink a pot.

This situation of watching the situation become chaotic but helpless made the three of them silent, but they could be silent, but some people could not be silent.

"Rustle...... Rustle......"

When the footsteps sounded, Cheng De, who had returned to the official shop, was bowing his head and walking on the road of the official shop.

After several expansions, the official workshop in the capital has covered an area of no less than 10,000 acres, and in this 10,000 acres of official workshop, some are brightly lit, and some are pitch black.

Cheng De walked to the door of his residence, and the lights behind the door were already bright.

He put his hands on the door, and his temper was released at this moment.

"Bang!"

The door was pushed open and smashed on the walls on the left and right sides, and the sound was deafening, and it shook more than ten high-ranking officials of the Yanshan faction who were discussing in the Chengde Courtyard after the dismissal.

"Becoming ......"

A person who was familiar with Chengde wanted to speak, but saw Chengde's gloomy face.

Everyone was undecided for a while, and could only watch Chengde walk into the hall with a gloomy face.

In front of everyone, he took off his official hat, and his forehead was densely covered with beads of sweat.

"Your Highness, if you want to be a vassal......"