The Red Mansions

Chapter 294
Palace, in the inner hall

Wang Ziteng's wife, Zhao Shi, and Aunt Xue, Mrs. Wang, and Sister Feng were talking.

Mrs. Zhao is nearly fifty years old, full of pearls and emeralds, and dressed in silk and satin. She is sitting in the main seat at the moment, with a smile on her face.

At this time, Mrs. Wang asked: "Sister-in-law, how long will it take for brother to finish the previous matter, and I want to ask him something."

Mrs. Wang's words aroused Mrs. Zhao's interest, she said with a smile, "What's the matter, such a serious matter, can my sister tell me, there is a saying that one person counts the short, and two count the long."

Mrs. Wang hesitated for a while, and said in a low voice, "It's my eldest girl."

Zhao's expression froze for a moment, and she said, "That girl Yuan Chun?"

Mrs. Wang nodded, and said: "Yuanchun, that girl has been in the palace for several years. Yesterday, she went back to the palace to upload the imperial concubine's order, and Master Heng of the East Palace let her out of the palace without knowing what to say. .”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhao's eyes moved slightly, and she said, "This...how do you say this? You are not serving the empress, why did you come out of the palace?"

Mrs. Wang's eyes were a bit gloomy, and she said: "I said that's the same reason. It's not good to serve in front of the empress, but now I have to go home."

Aunt Xue opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but felt that her sleeve was being torn by someone, she turned her eyes and saw her daughter's eyes seemed to be dissuading, so she pursed her lips and remained silent.

Mrs. Zhao's side also heard the implication of Mrs. Wang's words, because it is not easy to speak out loudly in front of outsiders, so she said with a smile: "Sister, there are other explanations for this matter, let's talk about it later."

Mrs. Wang nodded, but she couldn't help but look forward to it.

After a while, Wang Yi's daughter-in-law prepared some melons and fruits and ordered the families to share the food in the small hall.

Mrs. Zhao also took the opportunity to pull Mrs. Wang over, lowered her voice, and said, "Sister, have you heard any rumors recently?"

Mrs. Wang frowned and said, "What's the news?"

Mrs. Zhao said softly: "The third son of the emperor, King Wei, will leave the palace next year, and the empress will choose a concubine for this prince. I want to send Zi'er's name to the Ministry of Rites for the children of officials and eunuchs in all provinces, but the master will not stop her." Don't let it go."

As soon as these words came out, Aunt Xue, who was sitting and talking beside her, froze for a while with a smile on her face.

Mrs. Wang was shocked when she heard the words, she stared at Mrs. Zhao, and said, "Sister-in-law means..."

Mrs. Zhao smiled, and said: "I don't mean anything else, I just think that these nobles and nobles have also reached the age of marriage. The eldest girl is now beside the empress. I will see if I am lucky, this is not heaven. Great luck?"

When Mrs. Wang heard this, her heart was burning, and she said: "Sister-in-law said, this is the reason."

Secretly thought, yes, even if you can't enter the palace as a concubine, it's not too bad to enter the palace to be a concubine.

Thinking of it like this, my heart turns cold, could it be that Uncle Heng had planned this incident long ago, intending to do something bad?
Baochai quietly listened to the conversation between the two, her jade face was indifferent, she shook her head inwardly, thinking: "Yesterday, brother Heng meant to avoid these princes."

On Mrs. Wang's side, she said with a smile on her face: "Hearing what my sister-in-law said, the eldest girl is not in a hurry to leave the palace."

Zhao said softly: "Don't worry, wait another one or two years, in fact, it will be just one or two years."

The voices of the two were soft and weak, and they hid their heads and tails, rather reserved, except Baochai who could hear them, no one else paid attention.

But it is said that Wang Ziteng led a group of generals and schools of the Beijing camp out of the gate of Yi to greet him from a distance.

"Brother Ziteng." Nan'an County King said with a big laugh before approaching him.

King Si of Nan'an County was 50 years old, and he was of the same generation as Wang Ziteng, Niu Jizong and others.

Beside Beijing King Shui Rong, Liu Fang, Hou Xiaokang, Shi Guangzhu and others all clasped their fists in salute.

Wang Ziteng stepped forward quickly, and said with a big laugh: "The two princes came to the humble house, and the officials only felt that the smudges were radiant."

He also returned the salute to all the warriors of the Five Armies Commander's Mansion.

No matter what the position is, the superficial efforts of both parties should at least be in place.

While speaking, he put his arm into the flower hall, introduced the banquet, and began to talk, drinking wine and wine, in front of all the generals of the Beijing camp, Wang Ziteng deliberately did not mention the matter of the Beijing camp.

In the afternoon, when all the guests were full of food and wine, Wang Ziteng asked his son Wang Yi to entertain the generals of the Jingying camp, and then led Nan'an County King and Beijing Prince into the inner house to talk.

The servant served the tea, and Wang Ziteng stared at Nan'an County King closely, and said, "My lord, now the Beijing camp is about to be rectified, and I still need my lord's full support."

The king of Nan'an County smiled angrily: "Support, why don't you support it? The Beijing camp has been troubled in the past few years, with serious corruption and lax military discipline. How can this king look like an elite regiment? You just need someone like a virtuous brother. Only then can we rectify it.”

Hearing this, Wang Ziteng heaved a sigh of relief, but with a humble look on his face, he said: "The Beijing camp has been sparse for a long time. This time, the court, from the emperor to the cabinet, is paying attention. It is bound to rectify the situation." .”

These words naturally overwhelm people with grandeur.

King Nan'an nodded with a smile, and said: "King Beijing and the others are also here, and the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion is fully supportive. There is no problem with the letter sent to the Five Armies Commander's Mansion yesterday, but good brother, brother Yu There is still something to say.”

Yesterday, Wang Ziteng transferred the method of rectifying the selection and layoffs of the Beijing camp to the governor's office of the five armies.

Wang Ziteng said: "My lord, tell me."

The king of Nan'an County said: "The Beijing camp has been reorganized and reorganized, but there is always a way out for the original generals. Many of them have made great contributions to the court. Can't we ignore the old feelings and dismiss them all? There are also some old and weak soldiers. Originally they were barely able to make ends meet in the capital with their salaries, if they are allowed to leave the camp like this, if they do not solve their livelihoods, they will cause trouble on the streets of the capital."

Wang Ziteng frowned and asked, "Then what does the prince want?"

The king of Nan'an County said worriedly: "If the school, the old and the weak are eliminated, they must be properly resettled. This requires the court to bring money, at least people will be dismissed and returned to the fields, and a sum of money must be sent to settle down. Otherwise, I'm afraid people will resent you. .”

Hearing this, Wang Ziteng felt displeased, and said: "Your Majesty, the country's financial resources are scarce. A few months ago, the Eastern captives invaded, and now most of the money is used to help the northerners. Besides, these old and weak troops have already taken advantage of the country. How many, can you still ask for money?"

He had already asked the Ministry of Accounts about the tone, money, not even one tael!

Not looking for the Beijing camp to pursue the money that has been corrupted over the years, is the Ministry of Households forgetting the past, and it also allows the Ministry of Households to pay the money.

The King of Nan'an County frowned, looked at Wang Ziteng aggressively, and said: "But according to my brother's method of laying off troops and eliminating generals, almost [-]% of the generals and soldiers will be laid off. With such a large number of people, it is impossible You can't let it go, can you?"

Wang Ziteng looked solemn, and said in a deep voice: "My lord, these generals are useless and useless, so there is no reason to give them money."

The King of Nan'an frowned and said, "Didn't I hear that a month ago, Dongcheng also confiscated more than 1000 million taels of silver. Why can't you get out the silver?"

The king of Nan'an County has a lot of intentions in this move. No one can stop the imperial court's plan to reorganize the army and eliminate the Beijing camp.

For example, the prince of Nan'an is here to fight for the rights and interests of eliminating generals and soldiers. After that, he will surely spread the word, which will win the morale of the army.

Wang Ziteng said: "This is beyond the knowledge of the lower officials."

Bei Jing Wang Shui Rong's face was serious, and he reminded: "I'm afraid there will be trouble."

Others Liu Fang, Hou Xiaokang, and Shi Guangzhu all said one after another: "Nearly [-]% of the people will be eliminated, tens of thousands of people, if not properly resettled, I'm afraid there will be chaos."

All of a sudden, the study room was noisy.

This is to say all the good things and never do the bad things.

If something really happens, you can say it, everyone has reminded you.

Wang Ziteng was a little stunned by the noise, and said anxiously: "My lord and everyone, the concerns are not unreasonable. For many years, some generals have been eating empty quotas and drinking soldiers' blood. They should strictly check the empty quotas and order them to make up for the deficit. At that time, with Check the deficit of silver, and use it to settle the old and the weak!"

If Jia Heng were here, he would find that this was very familiar, it was clearly his own way, and it was completely a strategy to rectify the Guoyong camp.

And this strategy is naturally Wang Ziteng's reference to Jia Heng's rectification of the Guoyong camp under the proposal of his counselor Fang Ji.

But I have to say that Wang Ziteng didn't consider a problem.

That is Jia Heng's secret and close surveillance by the Jinyi Mansion, Lu He and others' rebellion, Tianzijian's strong suppression, and the expedition to suppress the bandits, which made the grievances pour out. All kinds of reasons are intertwined to achieve success.

Of course, the key point is that the number of people involved in the Guoyong Battalion is small, and now eleven battalions have to be trained in this way. Even if [-]% of them are eliminated, tens of thousands of people's livelihoods will be involved.

Sure enough, as soon as Wang Ziteng said this, the originally noisy study room gradually quieted down.

The king of Nan'an, however, had flushed cheeks, praised the festival, and said loudly: "It's wonderful, this strategy is very clever, take the wealth of the generals and distribute them to the soldiers, and don't move the household department for one, two, and one penny."

I sneered in my heart, good prince Teng, the entire army is not counted, and you still want to go after the shortfall. Do you want him to make up for the salary he has earned from the Beijing camp over the years?

wishful thinking!

Turn around, wait until you turn back to let the wind out, and wait until there is a mess, and then worry about it.

Wang Ziteng was relieved to see that Nan'an County King agreed with him.

Secretly thought, he was wary of the five military commanders before, did he worry too much?
That's right, the whole court is working together to reorganize the army, who can stop it?
The king of Nan'an County talked with Wang Ziteng again, and he was serious about helping Wang Ziteng to make up his mind. When it was getting late, he left Wang Ziteng's mansion, rode on his horse, and his face sank. In the twilight, he looked like a dark cloud densely covered.

"My lord." Liu Fang rode horses and rode side by side, and said in a low voice, "What should we do now?"

The King of Nan'an's eyes flickered coldly, and he said, "What else can I do? Since he wants to flatter his superiors and do everything he can, then don't blame me for being cruel."

When Liu Fang heard this, her face changed suddenly, and she said, "Then why did the prince ask the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion to assist?"

The king of Nan'an County sneered, and said: "When the chaos breaks out, he will bear the brunt of it and will be blamed by the court, and we will take care of the aftermath and wait for an opportunity to regain the right to rectify the capital camp. It is logical."

It is the general trend of the imperial court to rectify the Beijing camp, but there is a big difference in who will take the lead.

He didn't mention what was on the mind of the king of Nan'an County, but said that in the study, Wang Ziteng stood in front of the window and looked out, with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he frowned and asked Fang Ji, who was beside him, and said, "Mr. Fang, do you think they really support me?" ?"

Fang Ji said in a deep voice: "Jie Shuai, whether he is sincere or false, Jie Shuai is on the verge of attacking now and has no choice but to attack. If it doesn't work, the emperor will punish him. However, he has to guard against them."

Wang Ziteng said: "Sir, what you said is right. I don't care whether they are sincere or not, I have to treat them as sincerity. Even if I don't have my commander, the Beijing camp still needs to be rectified."

Fang Ji's lips twitched, wanting to say something to guard against these people's desperation and desperation, but after thinking about it, they are all in the ranks of martial arts, and they should not be too outrageous.Moreover, not to mention that it is difficult to achieve its effect, it will also attract Long Yan's anger.

Wang Ziteng turned around and said: "Yu Village in Jinling received a letter the day before yesterday, saying that he will go to Beijing at the end of the year to report on his work, and he intends to report to the mansion, asking me to be a middleman, and talk about making peace with the two mansions of Rongning, Mr. Fang, What do you think?"

Jia Yucun is the civil servant he has wooed, and this kind of civil servant who is born in the first class can be promoted to a high position as long as the opportunity comes.

It just so happened that next year, Jing Zhaoyin will be vacant. He will see if he can introduce him to Elder Yang Ge.

Fang Ji said: "I'm afraid it depends on the attitude of that Jia Yunhui."

When mentioning Jia Heng, Wang Ziteng's face was gloomy, his eyes were bright and dark.

At this moment, the servant outside called out: "Master, madam said that the two concubines and the young master are waiting for the master in the inner hall."

Wang Ziteng said loudly: "This is the end."

Fang Ji tactfully got up and said goodbye.

Wang Ziteng came to the inner hall. At this moment, all the wives and other people have dispersed. Only Wang Ziteng's wife Zhao, Aunt Xue, mother and daughter, Xue Pan and Baoyu are talking together.

Seeing Wang Ziteng entering the hall, Mrs. Wang, Aunt Xue and Baochai who were talking to Mrs. Zhao all stood up to pay respects.

Baoyu and Xue Pan called out, "Uncle."

Wang Ziteng smiled, glanced at Big Face Bao and Xue Datou, and said, "Sit down, let's be more casual at home."

After a few pleasantries, Wang Ziteng laughed and said, "What are you talking about?"

Mrs. Zhao said: "Let's talk about Baoyu's elder sister. Master, listen to what that master Heng of Jia's East Mansion said. He wants to invite the eldest girl out of the palace."

Speaking, will be narrated.

Wang Ziteng's complexion changed suddenly, his eyes were gloomy, and he asked, "What did he say?"

Mrs. Wang's complexion was a little ugly, and she said: "Brother, he said that if there is any good news, it should have been there long ago. It has been several years, and it is not a thing to suffer in the palace, but I heard from my sister-in-law that the queen's two The prince will open the mansion in one or two years, so there may be other opportunities."

Wang Ziteng frowned, and said in a deep voice: "Being married to the prince has both advantages and disadvantages. If the sage accepts his niece as his concubine, that would be the best thing. But prince, no one can say which cloud will fall in the future." Yu, people like you and me are extremely wealthy, but we still need... to be cautious."

He is in charge of the Beijing camp, if he marries the Holy One, he will be rich and honored, but with the prince, now he can't see who the Holy Heart favors, rashly getting involved is a disaster rather than a blessing.

Madam Wang: "..."

Aunt Xue at the side felt better for some reason.

Wang Ziteng warned: "Go back and tell the old lady to stay in the palace first, and I will think of a way later."

Mrs. Wang nodded and said hastily, "Talk to the old lady when you get back."

(End of this chapter)