Pei Ziyun leaned against the car, closed his eyes slightly, frowned, and seemed to be thinking.
Seeing this, the eldest princess sighed and handed over a note: "The prince said that as long as you accomplish this and make the prince's position stable, the prince will make you the true king in the name of supervising the country."
"This is the highest title a Taoist can enjoy. If you don't want to, I won't persuade you." The eldest princess said sadly.
Speaking of this, Pei Ziyun couldn't help but said: "The prince is putting me on the fire to roast me, but why doesn't the prince use a veteran?"
"I don't believe you can't understand." The eldest princess rolled her eyes at Pei Ziyun: "If the emperor's brother is in good health and doesn't vomit blood and faint this time, it's okay to use a veteran."
"But with this incident, the reason for the incident is to cut down the vassal, and the emperor is also afraid that those people have other ideas."
"If more than 100,000 soldiers are handed over to a certain hero and he turns out to have other ideas, I'm afraid it won't be Yingzhou's business. The whole south may be corrupted out of control in one fell swoop, and the prince won't be able to stop it."
Pei Ziyun's body was shaken, and he added: "We can let the civil servants lead the army."
The eldest princess said impatiently: "You are still avoiding me. Although the Marquis of Jibei is not the top general, he is also a warrior who has been on the battlefield for more than ten years."
"The Confucian generals in history all suppressed the uprisings of some mud-legged people in order to gain fame when the world was at peace."
"If we encounter such a veteran and strong general, and we don't have five times the strength, I'm afraid he will have to deliver food to the Marquis of Jibei."
"Stop talking nonsense. This time, the prince will follow the old practice of the governor of Yingzhou and appoint a civil servant as the general, and then you will handle the military affairs."
"If you are willing to give up your identity as a Taoist, you don't have to go to such trouble." The eldest princess sighed in surprise. She also checked some information and found out that dragon energy conflicts with Taoism. Even if there are Taoist officials in the court, the Central Taoist Department is subordinate to Hong Kong. In the Lu Temple, the chiefs were only promoted to the sixth rank, but when the county established the Dao Zhengsi, the chiefs were not promoted to the ninth rank.
This is partly for control, and partly because no matter how high you are, you are no longer a Taoist.
"It goes without saying that I have given up my status as a Taoist." Pei Ziyun smiled and said, "The imperial court is rich and graceful from all over the world. I know this."
"Titles, posthumous titles, and posthumous gifts can all bring brilliance to the world."
"It's just that I've been envious since I was a child. Once I've chosen a path, I don't want to change it." Pei Ziyun said lightly, joking, he has plum blossoms, and he will reach the top sooner or later. How can he change his path? He immediately changed the topic: " Civil servants are not good, but civil servants with the military qualifications of a governor must be at least a third-rank official or above. Will a third-rank official listen to me?"
"Moreover, you have underestimated the precautions that scholars take against Taoists." Pei Ziyun said melancholy: "Do you believe it or not? If this is the situation, the commander-in-chief may not be able to think about it for a while, and would rather lose his official position, lose his army, or even lose his army. Yingzhou, you want to kill me too?"
"Of course this is an extreme situation, but we have to guard against it."
"how come?"
The eldest princess blurted out, but as soon as the words came out, she was stunned - she suddenly remembered the turbulence in the court, and the ministers who had reported a few days ago: "God has established all the ways, Confucianism is the orthodoxy, and Buddhism uses magic numbers to guide ghosts. God, curing diseases and saving people may seem to be of small benefit, but in fact it harms the overall situation of the court. A chivalrous man uses force to break the ban, and he can also be punished by criminal law. A Taoist uses magic to disrupt the law. If you think carefully, you can consider more, and the harm will be greater."
"That is to say, if the owner has a use, he can just treat him like a haiku actor or actor, but he must never reuse them."
She was speechless and could not say no without conscience.
Pei Ziyun smiled faintly. He actually saw very clearly that in this world, Taoists are the only school that can compete with Confucianism because of their power, even if it is very small.
If Confucianism allows Taoists to go to court and have both power and legal authority, then is there still a way for Confucianism to survive
To put it more pointedly, the Marquis of Jibei had a minor illness, but the Taoist was a serious problem. If the Taoist had not had a countermeasure, he would have been killed.
Therefore, if a scholar leads the army and he has the military power, he may personally inform the army and cause the army to be defeated - again, this is of course an extreme situation, but it must be guarded against.
At this time, Pei Ziyun took out a pen, crossed out the name of the general who was going to the expedition, and said with his pen: "If you want me to go on an expedition, without Shang Fang's sword and the gold medal like my presence, I won't go, and I will die if I go."
"The second is the general. I want to replace him. Finally, I don't need fifty thousand. I only need thirty thousand troops - twenty thousand Beijing troops and ten thousand naval troops."
As he said this, he secretly smiled bitterly. It wasn't that he didn't want to ask for more troops, but that it was simply impossible.
"What?" The eldest princess was confused. She looked at the table and was instantly shocked: "Do you want Prince Chengshun to go on an expedition with you?"
Prince Chengshun is the emperor's last surviving son, he is only twelve years old this year.
The eldest princess's eyes flashed, and then she continued to talk quietly: "I can't make the decision on this matter. You have to talk to the prince, or even the emperor."
Prince's Mansion
It was dusk, the wind was blowing the bare trees, the prince's study was brightly lit, and there were only two people inside, the prince and Pei Ziyun.
The prince looked solemnly and stared at Pei Ziyun: "Master, you want to choose someone? Why don't you choose a general and minister instead of Prince Chengshun?"
Pei Ziyun blew the tea, took a sip, and looked at the prince: "I have no choice but to choose the Prince of Chengde."
"Oh? Why?" The prince knew Pei Ziyun's abilities.
Pei Ziyun thought for a long time and then said: "Prince Chengshun is your Royal Highness's youngest brother and your last surviving son. He is twelve years old. Prince, you certainly know how much your Majesty loves Prince Chengshun."
"Indeed, but what does it have to do with the expedition?" The prince looked at Pei Ziyun and asked.
Pei Ziyun sighed: "Weichen is a Taoist. Except for the titles of Zhenren and Zhenjun, he cannot have official titles, let alone imperial envoys. He has no authority and no official. The last time he went to fight against the Japanese pirates, he borrowed the royal flag of the Governor of Yingzhou to control them. It’s the sixth-grade officials who were squeezed out who managed to do it.”
"The general who commands tens of thousands of troops, whether he is a civil servant or a hero, is at least third grade or above. Even if he has a will, how can I control him?"
Outsiders think of himself as a princeling, but in fact he is a Taoist who does not receive any official position or salary from the imperial court. If others still want to rely on dragon energy to break through, but he has plum blossoms, he actually does not have much to rely on.
If Xie Chengdong hadn't taken refuge with King Lu, why would he have been involved in this whirlpool of fighting for the dragon
Discord between generals is a taboo on the battlefield. If a minister, either for the sake of justice or for the future, has to compromise and dance with chains on, but Pei Ziyun has already made up his mind and will not do it unless he agrees to his conditions.
The so-called "Don't be afraid of offending others, I will protect you", in Pei Ziyun's opinion, are all lies and nonsense.
Yes, the emperor and the prince can resist you if they are willing to do so, but why should the emperor and the prince resist you? Using you means going through fire and water. If he is willing to do it, wouldn't it be more enjoyable to do it yourself
Those who have some sense of conscience are to save their lives, usually by throwing them away to resolve the pressure and resentment, and then give them as a posthumous gift after the death of the family for a few years.
"It's not impossible for me to die in the army if I'm not careful." Pei Ziyun thought of this and said this.
"They dare!" The prince was shocked and slapped the table.
"This is the disadvantage of not having an official position, but the general cannot choose a minor official. The only suitable one now is the prince, the emperor's son, who has enough status to lead the entire army, but is young enough to facilitate the small ministers to take charge of the military." Pei Ziyun did not discuss it. Do you dare, just tell me all your plans.
Seeing the prince's expression, he thought inwardly, and then said: "The prince of Chengshun County is so noble that he cannot go to the front line. What I mean is that I can take command in Liangzhou."
"Weak ministers go to the front line. If they are effective, Prince Chengshun can take over all the credit. When he gets older, the prince can justifiably let him join the vassal."
Only then did he get to the point. The prince thought for a long time and said, "If it's about other matters, I can still make a decision. But if it involves Prince Chengshun, I can't make a decision. I still need my father's approval."
"Also, if you want to actually preside over the military and ask for Shang Fang's sword, then I have to report your information files to my father."
Pei Ziyun stood up and saluted the prince: "Respect the prince Yu!"
royal palace
The emperor rested, his chest rising and falling slightly, and said, "Let me hear everything the prince has to say about state affairs today."
The red-robed eunuch Hu Wuyi responded and opened the folder. It recorded everything the prince had done today, and he read it one by one at that time.
"Today, the ministers recommended the great scholar Jiang Shengping to be the governor, but the prince is a little hesitant. It seems that there is no other candidate, and the matter is pending."
"Why did the prince hesitate?" the emperor asked. In fact, the scholar Jiang Shengping was a civil servant. He was not satisfied, but he was very interested in why the prince hesitated.
Hu Wuyi bowed and was about to answer. A eunuch entered the palace, knelt on the ground, and reported to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the prince is here to report the general's decision."
Hu Wuyi took the fold, and the emperor said: "Read it!"
"Yes!" Hu Wuyi knelt on the ground and read in a high-pitched voice.
The emperor was lying on the bed, coughing a little, and his face was expressionless. When he heard that the prince wanted to make the twelve-year-old Prince Chengshun the commander-in-chief, he opened his eyes: "Nonsense!"
He struggled to get up: "Give me the discount."
Hu Wuyi did not dare to neglect at all and handed it over quickly.
The emperor took the paper and looked at it carefully. He was angry at first, and then thoughtful. He saw Pei Ziyun's information near the paper. His eyes narrowed, and he was about to pick it up and take a closer look, but he started coughing again.
Hu Wuyi said quickly: "Your Majesty, please rest more and follow the doctor's orders."
"Hey, I'm worried. The prince is young and has only just been in charge of the country. He can't sleep." The emperor said, sighed, picked up the information in his hand again, and looked at it carefully.
His expression gradually changed, and there was no sign of happiness or anger. He only said: "Pei Ziyun, after hiding it from me for so long, the prince's change finally makes sense."
At that moment, he reluctantly got up and walked around the room. For a long time, he didn't know what to think. He suddenly took out the ink pen and wrote on the fold: "Accurate, with Uncle Zhongqin as deputy."
After finishing writing, he threw the pen aside: "Send it according to this plan."
(End of chapter)