Number of People

  Chapter 1485 Xin Zijuan father and son talk

  The capital city in midsummer has become a bit cooler in the evening. The rare rain came, although it was only a torrential rain, and the ground was not even soaked, but it still made people feel better.

  The drought in the North has become more and more severe this year, making people worry about the harvest of autumn grain.

"The drought in Shaanxi is much worse than that in North Zhili. Except for the low-lying areas along the river and the areas with ditches and irrigation canals in Ningxia, Gansu, it is said that the harvest is almost impossible in other places..." Feng Ziying walked with her father in the back of the mansion. small garden.

"Oh? You mean that the reason why the soldiers of the four towns in the northwest are not willing to accept layoffs has a lot to do with the drought in Shaanxi? Food prices?" Feng Tang is very sensitive. There is no such problem in Liaodong, but if he goes to Sanbian, he will have to do not face.

"Well, the price of food has risen by 20% compared to this time last year. This is still the wholesale price at the Zhangjiawan Wharf in Tongzhou, the capital. In Shaanxi, it should have risen by 30%...." Feng Ziying nodded, "The dismissed sergeant Going home, the severance pay remains the same, but the food price has risen by 30%, and it may double by the end of the year, or even higher. Isn’t that equivalent to halving their severance pay or even less, who would accept it? If it were me, Nor will it be accepted.”

  Feng Tang's face was serious, this is a problem, and it's a big problem.

   Chief is not stupid.

Most of the soldiers in the four towns in the northwest are from Shaanxi Province, that is to say, they are basically recruited locally from the battalions or local guards in the four towns in the northwest. Reason, how will they live when they go back, and how will the whole family live?

  No matter what happens in the army, the military rations must be guaranteed, that is to say, their stomachs are safe, but if they go back, they can't even fill their stomachs. How could they be willing to go back?

Moreover, in Feng Ziying's view, after returning this time, he will not be able to eat enough to eat. Facing weak local defenses, these veterans who have been fighting the Mongols in border towns for so many years, if there are one or two ambitious people Adding fuel to the flames, especially if there are some moths inside the court, will they have some ideas that they shouldn't have?

Naturally, Feng Tang couldn't think of it being so far away, but Feng Ziying had already thought of it, especially when thinking about the physical condition of Prince Yizhong, the princes and Emperor Yonglong, and the ambitions of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, it would really be a mess. , I am afraid that careerists will all appear on the stage one after another.

  The people of the country have always believed in the principle that princes, generals, and generals should be relatives. Isn’t it the case with Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty?

Thinking of this, Feng Ziying felt more and more that her father might have to go to the Northwest as soon as possible, and he had to do his best as soon as possible to avoid the abolition of the four towns in the Northwest and cause turmoil. At least find a way to delay this year, observe the situation, and then do Decide.

  He judged that it might not be until the end of the year, and he was afraid that there would be troubles within the Great Zhou. At that time, it was unknown whether the Northwest Frontier Army would need to be abolished, or even re-expanded.

"Ziying, I feel that you seem to be very worried about the court situation in the second half of this year? It's not just an issue in the northwest, right?" Feng Tang said with his hands behind his back, "I know Liu Dongyang, he is very ambitious. Tu Wenxiu and Xu The dynasty is also a rebellious generation, Liu Baichuan can use it,..."

  Feng Ziying tilted her head in surprise, and hesitated for a moment: "Father, Liu Baichuan...?"

  At the beginning of the rebellion in Ningxia, the four leaders of the rebel army, Liu Dongyang was the leader, followed by Liu Baichuan, and then Tu Wenxiu and Xu Chao.

Both Tu Wenxiu and Xu Chao are attached to Liu Dongyang and have a close relationship with Liu Dongyang, but Liu Baichuan is quite independent, and his prestige in Ningxia town does not need to be much lower than that of Liu Dongyang, but Liu Dongyang is the deputy commander in chief, and his position is higher than that of Liu Dongyang. Bai Chuan also has more troops than Liu Baichuan.

Liu Baichuan was not very willing to rebel, so he took the lead in surrendering to the counter-insurgency army at the end. As a result, Liu Dongyang finally had to accept the court's recruitment conditions, and went to the west to retake Shazhou and Hami, which were controlled by the Mongolians and Mughals of the West Sea. Conditions of atonement.

"Well, Liu Baichuan is a useful talent. I originally thought that I would take over as the governor of the three sides. At that time, I intended to let him be the deputy commander-in-chief of Guyuan Town. I didn't expect the court to let me go to Liaodong abruptly. There was no time to arrange many layouts. ..."

   In front of his only son, Feng Tang had nothing to hide, and some secret thoughts in his heart were also shaken out.

"Those of us who are military generals are thrown around by the court at any time like toilet bowls. Datong today, Yulin tomorrow, and Liaodong the next day. If your **** is not hot, you will be asked to go to Ningxia. Maybe you will wait another two years and let you go. Who can tell clearly when your father is going to the Xuanfu? You can't play without a few people of your own."

  Feng Ziying's heart is heavy. This is the general's mind. From the perspective of the court, it is natural that his heart can be punished, but from the perspective of the military commander, he would be an idiot if he didn't do this.

   Suddenly throwing Dad to the three sides like now, why do you subdue a bunch of arrogant soldiers? Without people like He Shixian and Liu Baichuan as Dad's team, even if he took hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, it might still be a hollow ending.

"It's Liu Dongyang, Tu Wenxiu and the others. Didn't they deal with their fathers in the same way? But Liu Dongyang is too ambitious, surpassing his own strength. I don't know that he was thrown to Shazhou for two years, and the edges and corners have been smoothed out. Some?" Feng Tang had a faint smile on his lips.

   "Father, it seems that you have been prepared for a long time." Feng Ziying felt that she still underestimated her father, and made the arrangements so early. Could it be that she had expected to return to the three sides?

   It shouldn’t be, but Dad thought he was going to take over as the governor of the three sides so he started preparations. It’s just that it’s two years late, but it’s not too late, and it’s even just right.

"Be prepared, there is no harm in doing anything early, not to mention this is your father's instinct, I thought I would stay on the third side, who ever wanted to go to Liaodong?" Feng Tang sighed, "But It's good now, I've caught up with you..., by the way, you seem to know the situation on the other side very well, don't you?"

  Feng Ziying also laughed, "Father, do you still remember He Zhisheng?"

  Feng Tang pondered deeply, "That son of Shoushanbo He's family? Defense, or guerrilla?"

   "After the first battle in Ganzhou, he performed well, and he has been in touch with his son since then." Feng Ziying nodded, "Now he is a general in Gansu Town, and he is expected to be promoted, but after this encounter, he will be put on hold."

   "Oh, you still have contacts with the He family?" Feng Tang was surprised.

"At the beginning, He Zhisheng and I were also in trouble together. We were all born in Wu Xun, so we naturally had contacts. We have exchanged letters in the past two years. Otherwise, how would my son know the situation over there?" Feng Ziying replied: "This Once there was a turmoil in the Northwest, Liu Dongyang and the others should have been involved in it, but now it is not easy for the Northwest to cause another disturbance like the Ningxia rebellion two years ago, and Liu Dongyang and the others dare not try it lightly."

   "Ziying, it seems that you haven't let go of your attention to Northwest. I'm a little curious. Why are you so interested in Northwest?"

Feng Tang is very curious about his son's interests. If he is interested in Liaodong, it's fine. After all, he is in Liaodong, and Jianzhou Jurchen is increasingly becoming the enemy of the Great Zhou. But in the northwest, the Mongols are declining. The tribes of the special people are now also worried about the power of the Chahar people in the east, and their provocative behavior towards Dazhou is decreasing day by day, and their reliance is even increasing, but the son is still so concerned, which is a bit unsettling solved.

  Feng Ziying is not easy to answer, can he say that the great uprising at the end of Ming Dynasty in his previous life impressed him too much? Although the timeline seems to have not arrived in this world yet, there have been deviations in this history long ago, and now there are signs of such disarmament towns, how can Feng Ziying not panic and be afraid?

It is necessary to plan ahead, at least grasp and understand the trends of the four northwest towns, especially now that the father is going, he does not want his father to become the same as Yang He, the father of Yang Sichang in the previous life, in the position of governor of the three sides He was imprisoned, and finally died of illness in exile.

"Father, the northwest is bitterly cold, and the people are poor and poor, but there are many troops on the three sides. If these soldiers are withdrawn, if someone incites them, it will be a source of disaster. You have stayed in Yulin, and I have also been to the northwest. Once there is turmoil in Zhou Da's rear, the entire Central Plains will be shaken, and the people in the northwest are fierce, and the rebellion in Ningxia is fine, but it is limited to the army. If the army and the people combine, it will not be so easy for us to calm down."

  Feng Ziying did not answer directly, but she also explained why she was so worried about Northwest China.

Feng Tang reluctantly accepted the other party's explanation. Originally, he also had some arrangements on the three sides, and now going to the three sides just came in handy. However, he also felt that the situation in the court was a bit strange. His son was in the center, so he should be aware of it. When something happened, he was about to go to the northwest, so now he had to figure out the situation.

"Ziying, are you aware? Is it the princes, or Prince Yizhong, are you worried?" Feng Tang asked, "Or are you worried about the emperor's health? It was originally said to have an audience with the emperor, but it was delayed again. Is it because of the emperor's health?"

The old man's sense of smell is still qualified, a few words will make it clear, Feng Ziying nodded: "There are several factors, and Jiangnan is very dissatisfied with the imperial court's tax increase, but the war in the Southwest is very expensive, so it is impossible not to increase taxes, so several If the conflicts in the two aspects are entangled, it will be difficult to solve, but as long as the emperor is stable, the son thinks that the problem will not be dealt with, but he is afraid..."

  This is the biggest problem. A healthy emperor has enough control over the court situation, but if there is any accident, internal and external conflicts may erupt. If there is no balance rudder at that time, accidents may occur.

  (end of this chapter)