Between mid-to-late February and March, the lineup has gone to Yulinwei and other places in the Yatou Pass and Yansui station, and the Ming Dynasty has officially entered the "war mode" of the ten years of Hongzhi.

At the end of March, it rained several times in succession, and it seemed to be smooth and rainy.

On this day, Xie Qian went to the household department with an umbrella, and the new household department Shangshu Tong Zhong came out to greet him and welcomed him into the yamen.

“…… The surroundings of Zhili are all in disaster prevention ......," Tong Zhong mentioned in passing.

Xie Qian put the umbrella near the door and asked, "Or is it because of the hailstorm?" ”

"Yes." Tong Zhongdao, "This is not just issued an edict, saying that there may be hail disasters around Beizhili, etc., so that all places are prepared, after the beginning of spring, these rains look continuous, but after the spring grain sowing is not much moisture, if the water of rivers and lakes is insufficient, I am afraid that there will still be drought in the Central Plains." ”

Zhang Zhou warned of the hail disaster around Shuntianfu: "(April) Guimao, Shuntianfu, Jizhou and the four counties of Suning, Gaocheng, Zaoqiang, and Qingfeng were hit by wind, rain and hail, killing people and animals and injuring Tianhe. ”

There is a disaster of dead people, how can Zhang Zhou also have a warning.

But in fact, Zhang Zhou did not expect that the yamen at all levels showed signs of expanding this early warning.

To put it bluntly, it's a bit too much of a disaster prevention.

Xie Qian sighed: "For several years, how can this drought not have a head? No matter how amazing Zhang is, why didn't he recruit the Dragon King? ”

Tong Zhong hurriedly said: "This can't be said, Huang Huai is still preventing the disaster of the communist workers this year." ”

Obviously, many words are taboo in the court, and it is also because the emperor believes this, Tong Zhong will feel that Xie Qian is a little open-mouthed, and casually say something "unspeakable".

Xie Qian sat down.

Tong Zhong asked the two heads of the household department to bring over some official documents, including mentioning the transportation of money and grain in the northwest, and also including the new Xuanfu governor Liu Daxia's raising of money and grain, and the purpose of Xie Qian's move was to understand a series of performances after Liu Daxia took office.

"Xuanfu's reserves are insufficient." Tong Zhong reminded while Xie Qian was reading the local official documents.

"Hmm." Xie Qian didn't look up, continued to look down, and nodded, "In the past year, just on the Xuanda line, a few battles have been fought, if the Xuanfu treasury can still be full by now, it will be strange." What's going on with these tens of thousands of stone grains? ”

Tong Zhong leaned over and looked at it, and said, "This is a reward for the soldiers of the first battle in Guanshan before." ”

Xie Qian frowned and said, "Isn't it another reward?" How did you still move the accumulation of Xuanfu? ”

Tong Zhongdao: "That's the case, because when Wang Dehua was in the middle of the pass, he led the first-line soldiers and horses of Xuanda to gallop out to aid Xinjianbo, and after the war, there were soldiers returning to the government and other things, and they needed money and grain to be settled, because it took time for the transportation of silver money to be reviewed by the imperial court, so tens of thousands of stone grain from Xuanfu were transferred to settle the army and civilians. ”

Xie Qian's face was unhappy and said: "It's just that I went out to the army, and I took tens of thousands of stone grains back, is there a private gift behind it?" ”

This means, won't it be because Wang Qiong was promoted to the head of the household department, so there is a reward of tens of thousands of stone grains? It's a bit too much to use the grain of the imperial court to sell favors.

Tong Zhong added: "This matter has His Majesty's imperial decree, and Gonggong Xiao has also specifically mentioned it. All that was given was old grain, and Liu Shiyong, the governor of Xuanfu, mentioned this matter after taking office, but His Majesty ignored it. ”

Liu Daxia was recommended by Ma Wensheng, but now he is presiding over grain and grass in Xuanfu, which is a bit of trouble for the faction of Zhang Zhou, Wang Shouren, and Wang Qiong.

But after all, Liu Daxia had just arrived, and no matter what his opinions were, the emperor would definitely not consider the problem from his standpoint.

Let you raise food, not let you settle old accounts, let alone old accounts that have already been settled.

Xie Qian said: "In the long run, the treasury of Xuanfu will also become the currency of the inner government, if an imperial decree can transport grain from Xuanfu, it is better to store all the money and grain in the Jingcang." This wind can't last long. ”

He Zhong also seemed to hear it.

Xie Qian is here to "support" Liu Daxia.

Relying on Liu Daxia to compete with Zhang Zhou and Wang Shouren on the line is a bit of a grasshopper shaking the tree.

But if a group of old ministers in the DPRK come forward...... Of course, it can't be too obvious, that is, to support it secretly, this is to prevent the emperor from having fierce resistance, which requires the cabinet ministers represented by Xie Qian to secretly exert their efforts from time to time, in the name of rectification, etc., to secretly help Liu Daxia.

Tong Zhong is very clear about his position in the court, he does not belong to the new faction, which means that the household department is now mainly in the hands of the traditional faction headed by Liu Jian.

He Zhong nodded and said: "That's the case, then find someone to play it, it's better to ask Your Majesty to change this batch of resettlement grain into silver money, and transfer the grain to Yansui on the grounds that the grain for the troops in the northwest should be reserved...... What do you think? ”

"Hmm. Very good. Xie Qian nodded.

The purpose of the emperor's reward was not changed, but the food that was rewarded to the soldiers who were sent out of the border was exchanged for silver money, and the rewards that had been implemented were changed to virtual ones after being examined and approved again......

The emperor thought that he had been rewarded, but in fact, the soldiers could not get anything for the time being, and they had to wait for another year and a half, and then this batch of rewards would be distributed to the soldiers in the form of folding.

Even if you find trouble, you don't show any traces.

Xie Qian suddenly felt that Tong Zhong was very right in terms of operation compared to an old fritter like Zhou Jing.

"Don't let Zhang Bingkuan know." Xie Qian reminded, "Your Majesty is good to say, now Your Majesty only cares about the results of the expedition to Hetao, and when the money and grain are scattered, Your Majesty will not be too harsh." But if Zhang Bingkuan had come forward, things might have been different. ”

Anti-Zhang Zhou is like anti-thief.

Tong Zhong said: "Yes." ”

Later, when Xie Qian checked the official document next to him, when he discussed with Tong Zhong, he didn't seem to be as deliberately evasive as before, and his words were a lot more relaxed.

……

……

Xi shan.

Zhang Zhou has been supervising the transfer of ordnance to the northwest in Xishan for the past two days, and the ordnance is not the one used to transport to Yansui, or Zhu Hui's troops to lead the expedition, and they have been prepared before.

Now everything to be shipped is to Datong.

If it is said that Xuanfu is now used as the grain transit station of the Ming Dynasty in the northwest, and Wang Shouren is stationed in Datong as the general system of Xuanda, it is used as the ordnance arsenal in the northwest.

"Forty cannons, plus 1,600 guns, can only be equipped with one or two thousand men and horses, will it ...... Less? ”

Zhang Zhou was accompanied by Wei Bin, the eunuch who came with him as the emperor's envoy.

Zhang Zhou smiled: "A little adds up. The cannon transported this time was not an ordinary light artillery, and the firing range was not close. ”

This time, Zhang Zhou had to supervise it personally, because the cannons shipped out were all rifled guns, and they were also the first batch of rifled guns in the Ming Dynasty, and the guns were still smoothbore flint guns, but Zhang Zhou was already preparing to improve them to rifles, but it still took time.

Wei Bin said: "I heard that a lot of craftsmen were transferred to Datong this time. ”

Zhang Zhou nodded with a smile and said: "Datong produces no less coal than Xishan, and the quality of coal is higher, but the transportation of pig iron over there is not yet a climate." If in two years, a railroad from Beijing to Shanxi can be opened, and the northwest of the Ming Dynasty and Beijing will be linked at that time. There's a long way to go. (End of chapter)