Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 288 How could it be.?!
January 2

Guangzhou
Ever since Ding Kuichu was dealt with, Gu Yuanjing's life has become more and more comfortable.

This is not because he was lazy or ignored government affairs. The main reason is that there is really nothing to worry about in Guangdong.

When it comes to fighting, the current situation in the Ming Dynasty is no longer the same as it was last year.

Even though the southwest and Jiangxi are still fighting wars of different scales with different enemies, according to the current situation, the Ming army has either stabilized its position or is strangling the rebels. Even if there are recurrences, it is difficult to have much impact on the overall situation. Therefore, as the governor of Guangdong, he naturally does not need to worry about these things.

The other is internal affairs.

For Gu Yuanjing, ever since Your Majesty wiped out Ding Kuichu's party with lightning speed, Guangdong can be said to have a stable government and harmonious people.

Not to mention that the local governments were extremely cooperative with the imperial court's policies, even the government officials were extremely diligent.

Under such circumstances, he naturally enjoyed and relaxed his job as the Governor of Guangdong.

Of course, the enjoyable and relaxed life here only means that Gu Yuanjing does not have too many worries, not that he is in a leisurely state.

After all, Guangdong and Guangxi were still responsible for preparing food and fodder for the Southwestern and Hunan-Jiangxi armies. Even with Ding Kuichu's family property as a foundation, he didn't have to worry too much, but logistics involved a lot of trivial matters and physical fatigue was inevitable.

"Master, wipe your face."

As soon as Gu Yuanjing entered the study, he slumped down in the chair, and a moment later, a personal servant stood in front of his desk with a warm towel.

"Ah."

Gu Yuanjing did not expect the servant to be meticulous. He responded inaudibly and then completely emptied his mind.

In the past few days, he has personally checked the granaries inside and outside the city carefully. Only when he sees that the grain stored in the granaries matches the records in the accounts, will he consider this official business completed.

Most of his subordinates secretly resent his style of doing some things personally.

This place is far away from the emperor, and in the past few years even the central government has been unable to take care of itself. As a small person who relies on support from above to defeat the big, he can only keep his tail between his legs.

So on the surface it seemed that Gu Yuanjing had been living a good life for a few years, but in fact that was a method of self-protection that he had to choose under special circumstances.

Now, because of the affairs of Jingjiang Rebel King and Ding Kuichu, Gu Yuanjing not only became a high-ranking official in charge of a region, but also could be considered to be in the emperor's favor.

Faced with such an opportunity, Gu Yuanjing would rather offend all his subordinates than let any mistake happen in the task he was assigned.

"Bring all the official letters from the past two days."

After lying down for only half an incense stick of time, Gu Yuanjing stood up from his chair, ready to deal with the official business that had been delayed due to the inspection of the granary. But when he finished speaking, the servant, who had always been considerate, not only did not take the official letter, but hesitated.

The servant saw all of Gu Yuanjing's busyness during this period. Although he was delighted that his master had escaped from his earlier decadence, he could not help but think of the sickly governor.

"Master, please take a rest before..."

"Alas~~~ There is a war going on in the front, and if we don't work harder in the rear, how can we live up to the trust of His Majesty?"

If other people heard this, they would probably think that Gu Yuanjing was very hypocritical. But now there were only him and his personal servant in the study, so there was really no need to put on such a gesture. So these words must have been 70% sincere.

This is not difficult to understand.

Gu Yuanjing had all kinds of shortcomings. Not only was hesitant and indecisive, but he also had little understanding of government affairs because he was suppressed by Ding Kuichu.

But just as the central government was becoming increasingly weak, the power and responsibilities of local governors were growing, and his situation as a governor was becoming more and more difficult, Your Majesty suddenly appeared in Guangzhou like a god descending from the sky.

Afterwards, the rebel king of Jingjiang was executed, and Ding Kuichu, who was extremely powerful in Guangdong, was also liquidated. He, a man who had already lost all hope, unexpectedly found his place in the emperor's favor, and his career, which had been in a desperate situation, finally had a chance to turn around.

Under such circumstances, no matter who comes, their loyalty to His Majesty will probably be greatly improved. It is reasonable for Gu Yuanjing to say such words to his personal servant.

A moment later, the servant brought all the documents that had accumulated over the past few days, and Gu Yuanjing was immersed in official duties.

Although there seemed to be a lot of these documents, most of them were irrelevant except for the ones reported by Xu Renjue and Song Yingsheng.

After all, Guangdong's most important task now is to supply military supplies to the front. Under his personal efforts, not only are the two grain routes from the water to Guangxi and from the land to Ganzhou basically unobstructed, but even the granaries in Guangzhou are almost full.

In this way, he only needed to write "yes" or "no" on each document, and there was really no need to spend too much time on it.

just
"When did Song Yingsheng deliver this one?"

"It was delivered this morning."

After hearing what the servant said, Gu Yuanjing thought for a moment and put it back on the table.

This document from Song Yingsheng was actually written by his younger brother Song Yingxing. However, Song Yingxing's job theoretically had nothing to do with Guangzhou, so it was transferred to the Guangzhou Governor's Office through Song Yingsheng.

Gu Yuanjing had heard something about Song Yingxing's assignment. It seemed that he had received an imperial order to go to Qiongzhou to open a salt field for His Majesty.

In this document, Song Yingxing hoped that Guangdong could give him some convenience and hoped that Guangdong would advance the payment before the silver allocated by His Majesty arrived.

In the common people’s understanding, all the land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king’s subjects.

Both of them work for His Majesty. Not to mention that Guangdong will pay for it, even if it is all put on Guangdong's account, it is just a transfer from one hand to the right hand. Gu Yuanjing has no reason to hesitate.

But the reality is not so.

At this time, there was actually a clear distinction between the emperor's property and the court's property. If a provincial governor like Gu Yuanjing used the court's money on Your Majesty's property without any concealment, there might be some disturbance in the court over such a trivial matter.

By then, it wouldn't matter much if Gu Yuanjing's reputation was damaged. The only thing to be afraid of is that someone would take advantage of it to target Your Majesty, which would be really not worth it.

"Hey, these two brothers!"

Although the document had been put down, Gu Yuanjing still could not completely suppress the dissatisfaction in his heart.

He knew that the two brothers usually liked to tinker with some strange things, and they were not good at things like political struggles, but it would be fine if they were not good at it, but how could they come up with such a stupid move? !

This not only brought things that could have been handled secretly to the surface, but also put him, a high-ranking official, in a dilemma.

Under such circumstances, how could Gu Yuanjing not feel dissatisfied with this document?
"Go and ask General Xu to come to your house and tell him that I want to discuss military training with him."

After sitting in the chair for a while, Gu Yuanjing spoke to the servant. When there was no one else in the study, he spread the two documents on the table.

Compared with the recklessness of the Song brothers, the level of the second master of the Duke of Wei's Mansion is obviously more than one level higher.

The document he wrote was about recruiting new troops in Guangzhou, which was much more sensitive than allocating some money. But before the second master of the Duke's Mansion handed over the document, he had not only told him something in private, but also had a detailed plan for the details.

Based on this, this document was actually just a procedure followed after the civil and military officials in Guangdong reached a tacit understanding. How could it be as sudden as a stick from the Song brothers?

However, this letter was not the reason why Gu Yuanjing wanted to invite Xu Renjue over. His real purpose was to use this future uncle-in-law to resolve his dilemma.

About three or two cups of tea later, Xu Renjue arrived as invited. Gu Yuanjing not only did not show off because of his title of second-rank civil servant, but he opened the main door to welcome him in person.

Honestly speaking, it was a bit excessive to use such a ceremony, but he attached great importance to his future which was renewed by chance, so it was understandable that he was a little worried.

"The governor summoned you, but has there been any changes in the recruitment of soldiers?"

When Xu Renjue heard that Gu Yuanjing wanted to discuss the recruitment of soldiers with him, he went directly from the military camp on the other side of the city to the governor's office on this side of the city.

Although he felt a little surprised when he saw Gu Yuanjing waiting at the door, he didn't think much about it because he was concerned about recruiting soldiers. After paying his respects, he started asking directly.

Compared with Gu Yuanjing, Xu Renjue had a really hard time these days.

He knew that His Majesty had sent him here in order to intimidate the local people, but this was Guangdong, the most remote and remote Guangdong.

Hu Maozhen followed His Majesty and defeated the Qing army in Ganzhou. Although he was later left there like him to intimidate the local people, Ganzhou was right in front of the Qing army, and a major war might break out in a moment.

In comparison, his job of intimidating the local people is like retirement, but he definitely won't get to fight any wars.

As a result, he set his sights on the Sichuan-Guizhou battlefield.

Xu Renjue understood clearly that although the situation in that place had been stabilized, in the end, it was all local forces. The central government's control over this battlefield was mostly just on the surface and could not touch the deeper things.

Based on his understanding of His Majesty, it is simply beyond His Majesty's power to allow this situation to exist now. As long as His Majesty has time, he will definitely strengthen control over Sichuan and Guizhou through various means.

Among these methods, the most direct one is definitely to send troops to rescue, and where this force should come from is the focus of his plan.

Therefore, after hearing that the governor wanted to discuss the recruitment of soldiers with him and that it was done in such a grand manner, Xu Renjue's first reaction was that he was in trouble.

"Ah, General Xu, you are always concerned about state affairs and you are truly a role model for us. However, I am not inviting you to my house just to recruit soldiers."

"That?"

"We'll talk after we get in, we'll talk after we get in."

Gu Yuanjing's dilemma could not be explained in just a few words. Seeing Xu Renjue's confusion, he did not explain much, but simply welcomed him into the mansion very cordially, and only sat down after exchanging a few pleasantries.

"I heard that the date of His Majesty's wedding has been set. General Xu should take a few days off and go back then."

"Oh? It's settled?"

It's a bit funny to say that outsiders like Gu Yuanjing have been paying attention to this marriage, but Xu Renjue, an insider, seems to know nothing about it.

It's not that he doesn't care about his niece. The main reason is that the marriage is almost a done deal, and judging from His Majesty's performance, he seems to be quite satisfied with Xu Shaoyue. In addition, Xu Renjue has focused all his energy on military training for the past few months, so he has no other energy to pay attention to these things.

"Yes, it has been decided. Once the Imperial Astronomical Observatory selects an auspicious day, it will be announced to the world."

"Well, if that's the case, then we'll have to go back."

Xu Renjue seemed to feel a little emotional when he heard the words, but this emotion only lasted for a moment. When he realized that he had to return to Yingtian, recruiting soldiers immediately became his top priority.

"I didn't know the governor would summon me this time."

At this point, Gu Yuanjing would not keep this meaningless suspense any longer. When Xu Renjue asked again, he first pulled out the document handed to him by Song Yingsheng from his sleeve, and then handed it to the other party.

"This is."

Seeing this situation, Xu Renjue was naturally very confused, but who would have thought that after reading the document, his doubts were not only not resolved but became even more intense.

"General Xu"

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Just as Gu Yuanjing was about to explain the situation in detail, a deafening noise suddenly reached their ears.

As a civil servant, Gu Yuanjing was naturally confused by the sound, but Xu Renjue had been in the navy for such a long time, how could he not hear what was causing this sound?
pirate?

Zheng family?

Francois?

In a flash, thoughts kept appearing in Xu Renjue's mind, but they only lasted for a moment before he decisively extinguished them.

This kind of noise could only be caused by the simultaneous firing of at least a hundred cannons. However, after the battle of Luo Bay, there were no large-scale pirates in this sea area. How could the remaining scumbags cause such a scene?

The Zheng family and the French are even more impossible. Zheng Zhilong had already gone to Yingtian to meet the emperor, and the French only had a few broken ships and a few hundred musketeers stationed in Macau. If they really had such capabilities, how could they have remained safe for such a long time?
His thoughts changed in a flash, but Xu Renjue's steps were not delayed at all.

Just when Gu Yuanjing came to his senses, the man's figure had already arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

Seeing this situation, he could already guess what had happened, and immediately chased after him without even changing his clothes.

It was just that Gu Yuanjing's residence was not located in Guangzhou city. It only took half an incense stick of time from the time the two of them left the residence to the time Xu Renjue stepped onto the steps of the city wall.

But in just a moment, the rumbling sound of artillery fire had lasted for more than ten rounds. When Xu Renjue saw the warships cruising on the Pearl River from the city wall, he finally understood why the enemy's artillery fire was so fierce.

just
"Why is it red-haired?!"

By the way, I didn’t deliberately increase the difficulty by having the Dutch join in. According to the “Report on East India Affairs”, the original plan of the Dutch was to “send clippers and sailing ships to occupy the entire Chinese coast from Nan’ao (Guangdong) to Anhai (Fujian)”.

However, the Ming Dynasty won the Battle of Liaoluo Bay, so the Dutch temporarily gave up this idea.

If in real history the Ming and Qing dynasties had been in a stalemate, I think the Dutch, who were at their peak, would never have missed this opportunity.

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(End of this chapter)