That night, Zhou Zheng did not sleep, sitting under the eaves, shaking the rocking chair, thinking carefully about the current situation.
The center of gravity of the Ming court has shifted from the east of Liaoning to the northwest, and the bandits have eroded the entire five northwestern provinces, and have repeatedly invaded the hinterland of Shanxi, approaching the capital.
The pessimistic atmosphere of the ruling and opposition parties is extremely strong, and many high-ranking officials have moved south with their families; all kinds of rumors about the subjugation of the country are circulating in the streets, and the people's hearts are exhausted.
Zhou Zheng looked at the chilly moonlight, his face was deserted, constantly thinking, debating, analyzing the pros and cons, and related plans.
Shangguanqing came out from inside, put a soft quilt on Zhou Zheng, and whispered, "Shen'er is asleep."
Zhou Zheng turned his head and glanced at her, pulled the quilt, and said, "What do you think of what Dad said today?"
Shangguanqing squatted down beside Zhou Zheng, blinking his still clear eyes, and said, "Don't go."
Zhou Zheng was startled and couldn't help but smiled and said, "I thought you were going to say, where I go you go."
Shangguanqing stared at Zhou Zheng, and said, "Our foundation lies in the east, we are involved in the northwest, not in your plan."
Shangguanqing was Zhou Zheng's pillow, even if Zhou Zheng didn't deliberately say anything, Shangguanqing could see some clues.
Zhou Zheng put away his laughter, turned his head and looked in front of the black paint, nodded and said: "I have been waiting for an opportunity, originally that opportunity would be years longer. If I go to the northwest, it is possible to accelerate this time, but there are It may be smashed into the sand, and many years of plans will be ruined. The best way is to sit and watch the wind and clouds in the capital and wait quietly."
Shangguanqing looked at Zhou Zheng's profile, snuggled his arm, and whispered softly: "I know you don't want to wait or waste time. Then find a solution elsewhere."
"elsewhere?"
Zhou Zheng was startled slightly, then thoughtfully, for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There is nowhere else."
Daming this pool of muddy water, it is impossible to hit it sideways, you must go deep inside!
Zhou Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Cold Moon Pass, and muttered to himself: "If there is nowhere else, then you can only move forward..."
Shangguanqing looked at Zhou Zheng's resolute profile, knowing that he had made up his mind, and whispered softly: "Shen'er is still young, and when he is older, I will accompany you."
Zhou Zheng pressed her hand and said: "Well, I can rest assured that you are at home. If there is danger in the capital one day, remember me, take Dad, your mother's family, and other relatives and friends with you. Take it, go to Tianjin Wei for a temporary escape, don't take a fluke, you know?"
Shangguanqing blinked and said, "Is it really this dangerous?"
If the bandits invade the capital, wouldn't Daming really be subjugated
Zhou Zheng shook his head and said, "That's not good. Throughout the past and present, this looks like a chaotic world. The change of dynasty seems to be right in front of you. It is not unreasonable for the people in Beijing to panic."
Shangguan Qing Hum, snuggling next to Zhou Zheng, looking at the cold moonlight.
…
Early the next morning, Zhou Zheng talked to Zhou Qingli about his decision at the dinner table.
Zhou Qingli did not seem to be surprised, and exhorted: "The chaotic bandit is not a prisoner, so you must be cautious. The people are more chaotic than Liaodong, and you can't take it lightly. You have decided. Go and see Zhang Shangshu. In the court, He needs his support."
Zhou Zheng hummed and said, "I'll go to the Ministry of War later."
Zhou Qingli did not speak any more. Zhou Zheng's decision was expected, but he was more worried.
Zhou Zheng had breakfast and waited for a while before he got up and went to the Ministry of War.
When I saw Zhang Fengyi this time, Zhou Zheng was very surprised.
Zhang Fengyi, who was in a very good state of mind, now has white temples, and his whole person seems to be dozens of years old.
Zhang Fengyi watched Zhou Zheng come in, stood up with a smile, crouched, and said, "I thought you blamed me and refused to come to see me."
Zhang Fengyi was talking about Zhou Zheng being arrested and imprisoned when he returned from Lushun.
Zhou Zheng raised his hand and said, "My lord is joking, what does this matter to the lord? I would like to thank the lord for dealing with it."
Zhang Fengyi waved his hand, sat down aside, and said, "I'm going to enter the palace later, so let's just talk about your intentions."
Zhou was sitting next to Zhang Fengyi, looking at him with a tired expression, thinking about his age, and feeling a little unhappy. After thinking about it for a moment, he said: "My lord, I heard that you recommended me to be the prime minister of the five northwestern provinces?"
The prime minister and the governor have almost the same meaning, but they are biased in terms of power.
Zhang Fengyi nodded, and said, "I have this idea, but can I make a difference. You don't want to go?"
Zhou Zhengdao: "I want to go to the next official, but I don't have soldiers in my hand, and I need help from adults."
Listening to Zhang Fengyi's frown, Shen Ning said nothing.
Zhou Zheng looked at his expression and said, "My lord, what's the problem?"
Zhang Fengyi picked up the tea cup and said, "Drink tea."
Zhou Zheng changed his mind, and calmly picked up the teacup and took a sip.
With this buffer, Zhang Fengyi slowly said: "The situation in the DPRK is a bit complicated, and the emperor does not trust me as much as before. China has fallen, and the responsibility for the first recommendation lies with me. Perhaps, it will not take long before I will be an official, or , It's jail."
Zhou Zheng was shocked and forgot this!
Zhou Zheng put down his teacup and thought carefully.
With that said, it would not be so easy for him to go to the Northwest.
Zhang Fengyi looked at Zhou Zheng's expression and said, "I know you worry about the Northwest, and the Koreans are the same. Although I recommended you, I can't guarantee it. Lu Xiangsheng is also very good, Yuan Fu and others are very optimistic about him."
In terms of military merit, Zhou surpassed Lu Xiangsheng, but Zhou Zheng was “stained” and had been in jail. Also, Zhou is a Juren, and Lu Xiangsheng is a Jinshi.
Zhou Zheng knew that Lu Xiangsheng had died of the bandit, so he thought about it seriously, and said, "My lord, what percentage of the chances are you going to win an official position?"
Zhang Fengyi picked up the teacup again and said, "If you can make a decision before May, you have an 80% chance of winning. After May, you won't have it."
The corners of Zhou Zheng's mouth moved, this has not yet come out of the first month, such a big thing, the court will actually have to drag on for a year or a half
Zhang Fengyi didn't say much, and stood up and said: "If you have anything, come to me directly and don't decide without authorization. You go back first, I have to enter the palace."
Zhou Zheng had to stand up, raised his hand and said, "The next official retire."
Zhang Fengyi waved his hand, turned around and picked up a few memos on the case sheet, and went out in front of Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng left the Ministry of War, not feeling the inefficiency of the imperial court, but thinking about other methods.
After returning home, Zhou Zheng talked to Old Man Zhou about the Ministry of War.
Zhou Qingli was speechless for a long time, and in the end he could only say with emotion: "The situation in the country is like this, how can the husband recover..."
"I'll think of something else." Zhou Zheng said. Now that he has decided to get involved in the chaos in the northwest, Zhou Zheng will naturally not end halfway.
Zhou Qingli didn't speak any more, what else could he say
Sure enough, as Zhang Fengyi said, the more defeated the Northwest, the more fierce the court struggles. The court has been slow to elect another prime minister of the five northwestern provinces.
This dispute only passed in May, and in August, after the summer grains were harvested, the verdict was finalized.
That is, Lu Xiangsheng served as the prime minister of the five provinces and concurrently as the governor of Huguang, Hong Chengchou was in charge of the northwest of the five provinces, and Lu Xiangsheng hosted the southeast.
Surprisingly, Zhou Zheng, who had been idle for nearly a year, was reinstated again, and he was appointed as the governor of Shandong, the right deputy imperial envoy, that is, the governor of Shandong.
Zhou Zheng was responsible for the suppression of banditry in Shandong, Daming Mansion in Beizhili, Baoding Mansion and Henan.
This order came very suddenly, and even Zhang Fengyi hadn't heard from it before, as if it was the result of Chongzhen's arbitrariness. .
Zhou Qingli was very worried about this person's appointment.
Zhou Zheng calmly bid farewell to his family and quickly took office in Shandong.
The governor of Shandong seems to have nothing to do with the Northwest, but with the evolution of the Northwest Rebellion, Zhou Zheng, the governor of Shandong, is bound to enter the Northwest to suppress bandits!
Zhou Zheng went to Shandong, no nonsense, mobilized the old ministry, and quickly reorganized the army.
The governor of Denglai was subordinate to the governor of Shandong, and Jin Guoqi, Zhang Cunren, He Kegang and others were still his subordinates. (End of this chapter)