Two, Three, Three Kings Zunde (Part 2)

Anyone who can climb to the position of governor, no matter how noble his moral character, or how headstrong his temperament, must have one ability - that is, he is very good at protecting himself.

In the early years, when Wei Zhongxian ruled the sky with one hand and the eunuch party was strong, some of the ministers in the DPRK and the Central Government sold themselves to join the party, and some fought bravely. Those who were too strong-willed were unfortunately broken early - such as Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others, while those who sold themselves to join the party were temporarily defeated.

It's fun, but in the end it doesn't end well. Only those who have survived several rounds of turmoil and are still able to stand tall in the court are truly powerful people.

Wang Zunde is undoubtedly one of them. Most of these "Wanli Thirty-two Years Party" are politically mature and senior enough. Therefore, many of them neither have to grovel when the eunuchs are rampant nor are they afraid of being punished.

After a few years of normal life, once the eunuchs fell, those who danced happily were removed from the list, and the new emperor still had to rely on these old people to come out and take charge.

But now, the new emperor seems to be a little dissatisfied with the prudent policies of the old guys - Sun Chengzong, the most famous among them, has been dismissed. If it weren't for Yuan Chonghuan's death, no one in Liaodong would be able to suppress him.

Given the situation, the emperor may not re-appoint him. Even so, the emperor has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation in the Northeast War in recent times.

In July of this year, the Manchus launched an attack on the Dalinghe Castle that he had strongly advocated building. The defender Zu Dashou was surrounded. Sun Chengzong was so anxious that he searched for reinforcements from all over the world to save him. He didn't know what the outcome would be. But there were already people in the DPRK.

In order to attack him, the emperor's attitude was also very ambiguous, and he seemed to want to replace him.

Yang He's collapse now is a very obvious signal - the little emperor is impatient. As a minister, it is taboo to speculate on the emperor's intentions in vain, but if you are not sure about the emperor's thoughts,

Then this official will definitely not last long.

"So no matter what, we must cut the knot quickly and let the entire south settle down so that the Ming Dynasty can concentrate its efforts on dealing with the troubles in the northwest and Liaodong... The rebellion in Qiongzhou Prefecture must be put down as soon as possible!"

From Wang Zunde's position, it was completely reasonable for him to think this way, except for one thing - could this rebellion really be successfully quelled?

Chen Yao was quite suspicious of this. He had a very good relationship with Wang Pu and Wang Jieshan. Even though Wang Pu was "lost" in Qiongzhou Prefecture, the contact between the two has not been interrupted. Through a series of letters, Chen Yao

Yao is quite familiar with the strength of the shorthairs in Qiongzhou Prefecture.

According to Wang Pu's introduction, the group of short-haired people cannot be subdued by force. Although Wang Pu did not know that the short-haired people had actually attacked the mainland several times, he had personally seen the group of people deal with the Japanese pirates. It was really like a whirlwind.

Generally speaking, the Japanese pirates, who were extremely difficult to deal with in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty army, were nothing more than a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of the short-haired volley guns and thunder. The two sides clashed several times, and the number of Japanese pirates killed by the short-haired soldiers was at least hundreds, and almost as many.

The same number of prisoners worked as coolies in the mines, but the short-haired army itself suffered almost no casualties. The occasional casualties were caused by surprises at the beginning and being caught off guard. After the actual war began, they had never lost a single soldier - this

What a terrifying force!

But these words were useless. What Wang Pu sent back were all official documents. The governor should have read those letters first, but he didn't believe it at all. He only said that Wang Jieshan was bewitched by Short Hair.

Chen Yao is a smart person and will not do stupid things like "knowing that it is impossible but doing it", so some of his words are stuffy in his stomach and he is just wondering secretly.

But at this time, Wang Zunde took the initiative to mention Chen Yao's best friend of the same year:

"Wang Jieshan was trapped in the hands of thieves. I originally thought he had resigned himself to corruption, but judging from the recent letters, he seems to be quite loyal."

"……ah?"

Chen Yao was stunned, wondering why Shangguan suddenly expressed such emotion. At this time, Wang Zunde pointed to the map of the South China Sea on the table:

"This is what Wang Jieshan sent here recently, hidden in a book. According to him, it was secretly recorded from the topographical chart that Shorthair uses daily. I have already had it inspected, and the drawing is extremely accurate. In the meantime, the South China Sea islands, regardless of

Everything, big and small, is clearly visible. Everything that touches the territory of our Ming Dynasty is also very clear... This is just the South China Sea. I also heard that those Kun people have complete maps of all countries in the world. I really don’t know who they are.

How to find out."

After a pause, Wang Zunde twitched his beard and said with a smile:

"But just getting this chart is already a great achievement. Wang Jieshan did a good job!"

Chen Yao seized the opportunity and quickly said for his friend:

"Jie Shan is a disciple of Duke Zuo Zhongyi, and he will definitely not be willing to become a thief."

Mentioning Zuo Guangdou, the Duke of Zuo Zhongyi who was unfortunately killed for fighting against the eunuchs and was famous for his integrity and loyalty, even Wang Zunde had to raise his hands to show respect. But then, the corner of his mouth curled up again:

"Hmph, Ding Wei is a subject, Zuo Guangdou, Yang Lian are both worthy of praise, the rest are just mediocre!"

Only then did Chen Yao remember that he had inadvertently touched Shangguan's taboo, and he couldn't help but secretly regret it.

——Zuo Guangdou and Yang Lian were famous all over the world. All the scholars in the Ming Dynasty spoke of them with great admiration. However, they could not be mentioned casually in front of people like Wang Zunde and Yang He, because they were all in Ding Dynasty in the 35th year of Wanli.

An unqualified Jinshi.

The phenomenon of cliques in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is very serious. Jinshis in each subject in the same year will naturally form a party. In today's court, the most fierce competition between each other is the Jiachenke "Wanli Thirty-two"

There are two factions: the Nian Party" and Ding Weike's "Wanli Thirty-Five Year Party".

Ding Weike was three years later than Jiachenke, and was slightly inferior in terms of qualifications. He could not be as calm as their predecessors when faced with the threat of eunuchs. However, under such pressure, several brave and true men were tested.

, such as Zuo Guangdou and Yang Lian, of course there are also some who failed to withstand the pressure and defected to the Nine Thousand Years Old. Such people are insignificant anyway. They have poor eyesight. If they are on the wrong team in the political struggle, they will definitely be eliminated.

.

With the collapse of the Eunuch Party, a group of people who have been able to persist have almost had enough qualifications to compete for a few decisive positions in the court. But there are only a few good positions, and there must be competition between them.

A good fight.

The people in Jiachenke are relatively senior, while Dingweike has a better reputation because of his relationship with Yang Zuo. Both sides have their own advantages. So so far, the two factions can be said to be evenly matched - Jiachen

There are many Ke Jinshi who hold the position of local governor and have an advantage among the ministers in Xinjiang. However, Ding Weike's Shi Fenglai, Qian Longxi, Cheng Jiming and others have all served as chief ministers of the cabinet, and among the central cabinet ministers

Very powerful.

However, in the fourth year of Chongzhen, among the three governors of Jiachenke, Yang He of Shaanxi Province completely lost power, and Sun Chengzong of Liaodong Province was also in a crisis. Only Wang Zunde of Guangdong and Guangdong was still calm, but if the Kun bandits could not pass the hurdle in front of them, then it would definitely

It will also be bad luck.

——You know, the Fujian governor Xiong Wencan, who coveted his position as governor, specifically opposed Wang Zunde, and impeached him several times, happened to be one of Ding Weike's Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli!

The topic involved official struggles, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became awkward. Chen Yao wanted to resign, but felt that this seemed too obvious. While he was hesitating, a servant happened to come over and report:

"Sir, the Hongmao Fan's envoy has arrived and has been invited to the living room to serve tea."

This seemed to be a staircase? Chen Yao immediately bowed and resigned.

——The seat of the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi should be in Zhaoqing. However, since Guangzhou is much more prosperous than Zhaoqing, and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi often also serves as the governor of Guangdong, most of the successive governors prefer to work in the governor's office in Guangzhou rather than work in the governor's office in Guangzhou.

The same goes for Wang Zunde when he goes to Zhaoqing. This has become a habit, and guests all know to come here directly to ask for a meeting.

Before Chen Yao left the house, his boss asked casually:

"Is it still the same businessman named Li from last time?"

The servant was quite smart and had already quietly observed the identity of the visitor:

"The man surnamed Li is also here, but this time several real red-haired people are here to act as envoys. The man surnamed Li seems to be only an interpreter - it seems they take it very seriously."

Unexpectedly, Wang Zunde became angry when he heard this:

"How can the red-haired Yi people enter my main hall - let them wait in the side hall!"

Turning his head, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi ordered Chen Yao again:

"Yuanlang, please wait a moment. After I negotiate with those barbarians, I'm afraid there will be something else for you to do later."

Chen Yao immediately bowed:

"Students are always at your disposal."

…………

However, they waited for two full hours, and it was not until the sun turned west that Shangguan was seen returning with square steps.

Wang Zunde's expression was very complicated, he seemed to be a little happy, but also a little nervous. He did not speak immediately after entering the door, but sat on a chair with his eyes slightly closed, as if he was resting his mind.

But Chen Yao knew that this was an old habit of his boss. Wang Zunde would close his eyes and think like this only when he encountered something important that he couldn't decide on. At this time, he could never be disturbed, so he was cautious and didn't even dare to be loud.

He said nothing and just stood aside waiting for instructions.

About half an hour later, Shangguan opened his eyes, his eyes sparkling with determination.

"Yuanlang, you have to prepare another batch of grain and fodder. Soon another group of barbarian soldiers will arrive to conquer Qiongzhou with us."

Chen Yao's face changed slightly, but he still lowered his head:

"Barbarian ships and barbarian soldiers? Are you here in Guangzhou? May I ask Sigong, how many are there?"

Wang Zunde first stretched out three fingers, but after thinking about it, he changed it to a palm:

"The number of soldiers they reported was three thousand, but considering the shipmen and sailors... you should prepare as many as five thousand."

At this time, Chen Yao's expression finally changed greatly. He didn't care about his superiority or inferiority. He even grabbed Wang Zunde's sleeve:

"Five thousand barbarian soldiers? Si Gong, please think twice! These five thousand barbarian soldiers have come ashore. If they betray their trust, Guangzhou Prefecture may not be able to protect them!"

But the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi just looked at him calmly and did not care about the rude behavior of his staff.

"It was precisely for this reason that I couldn't make a decision just now. I know how deceitful the Western Yi people are. But this time, it is a God-given opportunity that is rare in a thousand years..."

Wang Zunde shook his sleeves, stood up, looked at the map of the South China Sea on the table, pointed to the location of Luzon on the map and said with a smile:

"The people who came to meet with me just now turned out to be not only the Hongyi people, but also the Francois. Those Kun people are really capable of causing trouble - I don't know how, but they angered the Francois in Luzon.

They have reached the extreme point. They sent a deputy chief over, and kept saying that they were going to come out in full force, willing to be the vanguard, to flatten Qiongzhou Prefecture, and crush all the Kun people to ashes in order to relieve their hatred."

"The Western Yi are cunning, this statement may not be credible."

The matter was so important that Chen Yao no longer cared about his original habit of not talking too much and tried to persuade him repeatedly, but Wang Zunde just nodded slightly:

"I didn't believe it at first, but the leader of the Western Yi knelt down in front of me and swore an oath to the God he believed in. He said that every word of what he said was true...then it is quite credible.

"
To be continued...