The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"really?"

When Wei Guangde said that the three guards of Wuliangha had long since ceased to exist, and that the gold seal and edict had been seized by the Mongolian tribes such as Chahar, Nekalka, and Horqin, Yin Shizhen screamed in surprise.

what does that mean?

This means that the exchanges and trade between the imperial court and the three guards over the years are actually scheming against the enemy.

"Don't be so surprised. In fact, Bian Zhen and the important ministers in the court know more or less about these things, but they are not willing to admit it."

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "Otherwise, how can we explain the intrusion of Huang Taiji's troops this time? You know, the north of Ji Town is the territory of Sanwei. If Sanwei is still there, how can Huang Taiji enter and exit the border wall with such arrogance?"

"Please allow me to slow down."

What happened today had a big impact on Yin Shizhen.

Originally, I just told Wei Guangde that Shandong Governor Zhang Jian had submitted a petition to ban Liao ships from shipping. This was not a big deal. Prince Yu's palace had already made a plan, and it was just a matter of dealing with it.

However, he didn't expect to learn from Wei Guangde that King Yu had privately asked him about upgrading Liaodong's rank. Later, he learned that the imperial court's inherent concept of the north had seriously deviated from the actual situation over the years.

When Wei Guangde talked about Mongolia, he was actually mentioning that the current Nuergandusi is no longer what it was when the Ming Dynasty withdrew. The mergers between the tribes there may have formed new powerful tribes.

As for Wei Guangde's desire to rearrange Ming's strength, Yin Shizhen was not optimistic.

It's very simple. The current finances of the imperial court are worse than those of the past. How can they have the money to restore the garrison of Nuergandusi.

"Let me think about this matter carefully. If possible, I need to summon them to discuss this matter together."

Yin Shizhen said with a grimace.

"This matter is not urgent. Brother Zhengfu can discuss this matter with Master Gao and others in private. There is no need to summon everyone to discuss it together."

Wei Guangde said lightly.

This matter is not a small matter, and if he really wants to do it, he will have to wait until King Yu comes to power, so Wei Guangde is really not in a hurry to get everyone to reach a consensus.

Moreover, Wei Guangde believes that Zhang Juzheng must know about the situation of the three guards of Wuliangha, and Gao Gong may also know something about it. After all, he is already a high-ranking official in the court and is in charge of etiquette. The diplomacy between the court and the three guards is strange, and it is impossible for Gao Gong not to be without it. Not even the slightest awareness.

To put it bluntly, if the matter is brought out, it will bring shame to the court, so the senior officials are holding back.

"By the way, the Ministry of War has issued an order to Shanxi Town in a cipher yesterday. Now we are just waiting for the report from the Xuanfu."

Wei Guangde only speculated that Ma Fang might have led his troops out of Guancheng, but whether this was the case would have to wait for inspection by the Ministry of War.

Obviously, Yang Bo had believed Wei Guangde's judgment, so he gave Shanxi Town the order to march into Xuanfu instead of confirming the situation in Xuanfu with an attitude of trusting others.

"I just hope I'm worrying too much."

Wei Guangde nodded and murmured.

"By the way, you asked Yang Shangshu the day before yesterday. How did he analyze it?"

Yin Shi said strangely.

He also knew about this from King Yu, so he would have thought of this happening before.

When Wei Guangde came to Prince Yu's Mansion yesterday, of course he didn't ask about it. Now that he mentioned it, he thought of asking.

"Ma Fang should know how to keep this deployment secret, so there is nothing to worry about. The main reason is that the attack is time-sensitive. Yang Shangshu just feels that something is wrong, but he can't say too much. Let's just leave it to fate."

Wei Guangde recalled Yang Bo's surprised and helpless expression when he and Yang Bo broke up the matter that night.

Normally, as the Minister of the Ministry of War, he should be the first to know about these things, but he learned it from Wei Guangde.

If someone else was sitting in the position of Minister of War, whether Wei Guangde dared to say it would be the same thing, but fortunately it was Yang Bo.

His magnanimity and self-cultivation were also recognized in the court.

Soon, two days passed. Yang Bo from the Ministry of War sent someone to confirm the news that Ma Fang had led his troops to patrol the border.

This was a rhetoric to the outside world. Only a few people in Prince Yu's Mansion and the Ministry of War in the capital knew that Ma Fang had gone to Beishatan Beach under the guise of patrolling the border.

Wei Guangde felt that all the buttocks that needed to be wiped were wiped clean for Ma Fang, and he only hoped that everything would go well for him this time.

The messenger sent to Shanxi has already set off, and the official document sent by the Ministry of War to Dong Yikui will only be a routine order for his commander to inspect the Xuan Mansion, but will not say much. The matter of Ma Fang is now the highest-secret secret of the Ministry of War.

Wei Guangde wrote to Dong Yikui because he had to let him know about things that the Ministry of War would not say, so that he could know the seriousness of the situation.

Wei Guangde had only one request, and that was to assemble the cavalry from Shanxi Town and lead him to rush to Xuanfu as soon as possible to take over the defense.

As for the infantry, just set off step by step. If nothing happens, it will be training.

The court was also in a state of turmoil these days. After Zhang Jian's report, many sixth- and seventh-rank officials also submitted reports, supporting or opposing the matter. The matter discussed was all about the Liao ship shipping.

Zhang Jian's memorial had already been sent to Xiyuan, but it was not returned to the cabinet the next day. Obviously Emperor Jiajing did not make a decision immediately, and he did not know whether to stay in China or what.

However, the work done by Hedao Yamen and Shandong in the past year has not been in vain. The memorial supporting the ban on Liao ship shipping has an absolute advantage.

This may also be a kind of public opinion.

Interestingly, neither the Governor's Water Transport Department in Huai'an, the River Governor's Yamen in Jining, Shandong, nor the provincial river administration departments discussed the matter.

The incident was ignited by a memorial from the governor of Shandong, and then low-level officials in the capital went there to discuss the matter. The mid-level and senior officials in the capital have so far remained silent.

However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that those who opposed Zhang Jian's memorial were mostly officials who had connections with Prince Yu's Palace, or some of their close friends.

Such a scene can't help but make many people who don't know the situation secretly speculate that this may be the calm before the storm.

Liuquanju in the capital, a restaurant that used to be crowded with guests, seems very deserted today.

The ground floor of the two-story attic seemed empty at this time, with almost no people visible. There were only a few figures standing in front of the door, blocking all guests who wanted to come here to dine.

In complete contrast to the deserted atmosphere downstairs, the second floor was full of distinguished guests. All the tables and chairs were filled with people, and judging by their temperament and clothing, you could tell that they were all officials of the government.

The atmosphere at the banquet was relaxed, everyone was talking and laughing, and from time to time someone came to the table to toast, which was very lively.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost heightened, an old man in official uniform stood up at the main table, raised his glass and said: "My lords, I invite you to come here for the banquet today to express our gratitude to you. Uphold justice and express gratitude for admonishment.

To be honest, my lords, my hometown is Shandong, and I really can’t bear to see my fellow villagers being harassed by refugees from Liaodong.”

Although the old man was old, his voice was loud and clear, and the guests on the second floor could actually hear what he said clearly.

In fact, none of the officials sitting below knew the reason for today's banquet. They only respected the merchants for their money.

However, since they have become officials, they really are not worried about not finding money.

In fact, even officials such as the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College who are considered to be Qingshui Yamen can easily make money as long as they are willing to put aside their old faces.

However, they came here today not just for the so-called face of the talking old man, but for the ministers from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works who were sitting next to him.

Regardless of whether it is water transportation or river transportation, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works actually benefit the most.

One is responsible for the country's water transportation affairs, supervising the southern provinces to transport grain to the capital through the canal through waterways, and the other is responsible for the management of the rivers in the Yellow River, Huaihe River, and Canal areas. They are both good and fat jobs.

These low-level officials in the capital stay in the capital to wait for opportunities. If they are appreciated by the nobles, they hope to be promoted along the way. If not, they will look for opportunities to move out. Naturally, they must handle the relationships between all parties.

When I came here, I naturally hoped to expand my network and connect with a few adults above. If I were to go out to work, I would naturally go to these places to find a job, and it would not be in vain to study hard for many years.

"Now that the public opinion in the DPRK is overwhelming, I would like to ask you all to continue to work hard and continue to report, so that people today will know the negative consequences of allowing Liao ships to be transported by sea, get rid of the bad government as soon as possible, and restore a bright future to the world."

After the old man finished speaking, he went from table to table to toast. Behind him, there were waiters carrying trays filled with red cloth bags and distributing them from table to table.

As for the adults at the main table, they had free time to continue sitting there toasting each other and chatting happily.

They came here either for personal gain or because they had to come to save face for their friends. Anyway, they didn't intend to have too much contact with the people below.

Outside Liuquanju, there are countless pairs of eyes staring at this place.

They naturally have a way to know everything that happened inside, and they stayed here just to confirm the identity of the people attending the banquet after the banquet was over.

"You mean Zhang Wenyuan, Yang Zhao, Liu Siwen, and Chen Fusheng were all involved in this matter?"

At this time, in the Wei Mansion, Wei Guangde was sitting on a chair, with his legs crossed and listening to Zhang Ji's report.

There was quite a commotion in Liuquanju tonight. After all, hundreds of officials attended the banquet, and the battle was quite big. Even Wei Guangde heard the news and naturally sent someone to investigate.

"Master, they don't take you and the prince seriously at all."

Zhang Ji said carefully there.

"Haha, show your strength. After all, there are still many officials who have not taken action. They are showing their strength to us."

Wei Guangde smiled nonchalantly, but his smile gradually became colder.

Demonstration, naked demonstration.

Being so unconcealed was just to make Prince Yu's Mansion retreat in the face of difficulties.

Originally, Wei Guangde had no intention of responding to them, but he did not expect that as a result of Prince Yu's forbearance, the other party seemed to feel that they were convinced, and actually did such an unwise thing in the capital.

What Wei Guangde was thinking at this time was that if they really succeeded as planned this time, they would be able to make a comeback in the future after King Yu came to power, facing the opening of the sea and trying shipping again.

In King Yu's case, it is basically determined that the sea ban will be cautiously opened, and a pilot port of trade will be temporarily allowed. At the same time, grain and sea transportation will be tried again to re-analyze the pros and cons of water transportation and sea transportation.

Initially, they wanted to keep things quiet so as not to displease Emperor Jiajing, but in the current situation, Prince Yu's Palace was a bit passive.

Prince Yu's Mansion will use its strength to stop this matter and see what follow-up measures Cao and He have?

Wei Guangde thought about it, and pressed hard to see what other options they had.

Although Xu Jie and other veterans will assist in handling government affairs in the future, they will also be able to see the methods of the people below, but there is no guarantee that the other side will have other methods that have not been used before.

In addition, what Wei Guangde didn't expect was that several of him also went to the banquet in the same year and had participated in their gatherings before but did not come to his place for ventilation.

Not to mention others, Wei Guangde thought that he treated them well and almost always responded to their requests, but he didn't expect that there were still people who were dissatisfied with him.

Regarding the names mentioned by Zhang Ji before, we talked happily when we were with him, and there was no sign of any barrier at all.

It's impossible for them not to know that the person behind this matter is actually Prince Yu's Mansion, Wei Guangde.

It seems that I need to change my attitude towards those who are of the same age in the future, and I have to be more careful, because I might not be sure who is in the Cao camp but in the Han heart.

Wei Guangde was considering whether to intensify his counterattack and get more people to write letters against the ban on the sea. In the capital, there were many mansions where people were coming in and out even at such a late hour, constantly reporting various information they had learned.

Perhaps, only big figures like Xu Jie and Yuan Wei would not care about the small actions of these people below.

Wei Guangde went directly to Prince Yu's Mansion early the next morning, and also sent someone to send news to Zhang Juzheng, asking him to go to Prince Yu's Mansion first.

However, after Wei Guangde entered Prince Yu's Mansion and saw that Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng had not arrived yet, he just sat in his seat to rest, thinking about how to express his thoughts last night.

To activate the relationship with Prince Yu's Mansion, you naturally need their support before you can ask Prince Yu for instructions. If these subordinate officials don't agree with each other, it will be difficult to get a result when you get to Prince Yu.

King Yu's decision-making ability is still lacking.

This is also the reason why Wei Guangde planned something so early, to put a nail in his heart early, so that he would have more time to think, or seek advice from other people.

Not long after, Zhang Juzheng entered the room first, bowed his hands to Wei Guangde and sat down, looking at him as if he was hesitant to speak.

"Uncle, I know."

Wei Guangde knew from the look on his face that Zhang Juzheng must have sent someone to pay attention to the banquet over there last night.

Zhang Juzheng nodded, indicating that he knew.

"Uncle, do you have any ideas?"

Wei Guangde asked with a smile.

"I have the same idea as you. We can't sit back and ignore it. They are too disrespectful."

Zhang Juzheng said.

With Zhang Juzheng's attitude, Wei Guangde felt confident.

Yin Shizhen has a bit of a bad temper. No matter what his initial attitude is on this matter, as long as the matter leads to the loss of Prince Yu's face, he will definitely support him in repaying the favor.

This trick is also effective against King Yu.

Relatively speaking, Zhang Juzheng is not easily angered. He is more accustomed to thinking calmly and analyzing gains and losses.

However, before they could wait for Yin Shizhen's arrival, the little chambermaid ran into the house panting.

"Master Wei, Master Zhang, what's wrong, there is a beacon message from the direction of Changping."