Chapter 1105 Showing Weakness
Halfway through the renovation of the east wing of the main courtyard, Haijiao came to find the younger sister with more accurate news.
He told Haitang: "Duke Zhenguo is indeed seriously ill. The letter from the Duke Zhenguo Mansion of Chang'an was sent to the capital at the end of the first month. Just after the Lantern Festival, General Zhou's messenger set off and rushed all the way. The Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion doesn't know what the situation is in Chang'an now. However, if there is bad news, Duke Zhenguo's wife and General Zhou will definitely send someone to send a message."
According to Zhou Yijun, Duke Zhenguo has been sleeping for a long time and may not be able to wake up for two quarters of a day, which may only be enough for him to drink medicine and take some soup and rice porridge. The doctor said that the Duke Zhenguo's body has reached this stage, and no matter how much medicine is used, it is impossible to recover from health. It can only be barely maintained and it can last as long as it can. The wife of Duke Zhenguo and General Zhou also felt that it would be better to maintain the status quo for the time being. They did not intend to take the risk of using any new prescriptions or applying heavy medicines, for fear that the effect would be poor, which would damage Duke Zhenguo's vitality and aggravate his condition.
The letter from the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion came to Beijing not just to inform the family that the Duke of Zhenguo was seriously ill. General Zhou also wrote a memorial, asking his brothers to submit the letter to the emperor on Thursday, hoping to ask the new king to allow his brothers to go home to serve the sick. Among them are General Tuesday, General Saturday, General Stationed in the border town, General Stationed in Ganzhou, General Stationed in Thursday, General Stationed in Beijing, etc. General Zhou said that his brothers may need to go home to serve the disease for a while. If his father is seriously ill and he will have to be mourned for three years, then someone will take over the position of the brothers. In this regard, the emperor and the court will also need to make a decision.
Haijiao said to Haitang: "At present, the new king and the cabinet are not planning to let the general on Thursday go back, but it is difficult to say the other major generals of the Zhou family. The most likely person to go home to serve the sick should be the general on Wednesday and Saturday? The Duke of Zhenguo Mansion actually means this."
Both the General Tuesday and the General Thursday were not parents and children of Duke Zhenguo. The former was adopted son and the latter was adopted nephew. If the new king and the cabinet believe that the former guards the border city, no one can replace the heavy responsibilities, and the latter is in charge of the imperial guards, and is deeply trusted by the royal family and cannot be separated easily, then no one will find it inappropriate to both of them to go home to serve their seriously ill father.
Haitang heard another meaning: "The general on Wednesday is now guarding Ganzhou, and he actually controls the military power of the Shaanxi Xingdusi. If he wants to resign and go home to serve the sick, and let the new king and the cabinet choose another general to replace him, it means that the Zhou family and the Northwest Army plan to give up the military power of the Shaanxi Xingdusi to the court?"
Haijiao looked at Haitang with deep meaning: "You little sister, did you see it too? In fact, many people have seen it. The frontier is still peaceful. Although the Hu people are often disturbing the border from time to time, they are all small-scale fights and are far from the point of a big war. Their civil strife cannot stop for the time being, and it is impossible for the whole country to invade our Da Chu. At this time, even if the generals sent by the imperial court to guard the border, there will be no big mistakes. Moreover, the main generals were replaced, and the guards of each border guard were still there. As long as the military rations and military supplies were sufficient, the main generals should not do too stupid things, so they would not let the Hu army be overwhelmed. The court just sent some capable and talented generals to practice, so as to avoid the fact that there was a war on the frontier, they could only count on the generals of the northwest border army to go to the battlefield. Some people in the court said that the Zhou family and the others monopolize the power and had the intention of being unjust."
All motivated generals in the court can give it a try. Although there are no major wars at the border, the small-scale battles that occur from time to time are enough to make people gain some military merits and accumulate some qualifications. As long as the generals in the capital are not too lucky or too useless, they will make some progress in the Northwest Army training for a few years. The Zhou family just shrank their power and concentrated their power within the Shaanxi Dusi, and kept it low for a few years to avoid arousing royal suspicion again.
As long as you spend the next few years safely, when the Zhou family is filial, Zhou Xuejun can also marry Xinjun. Whether the Zhou family can still control the power of the northwest border army by then depends entirely on the new emperor's wishes.
Haitang understood: "Duke Zhenguo doesn't want to let his family suffer from the royal suspicion, right? But I think the new king will not fail to use the Zhou family. How many generals can be the only one in the country? Even fewer people can gain a foothold in the northwest army. If the Zhou family is not used, who else can he use? Prince of the Hou of Yingchuan or General Tu? There are too few people who can use it, and the Zhou family will be his future wife. If it cannot be his help, why should he make Zhou Xuejun the queen?"
Haijiao sighed, "Who told me that what the late emperor did was so bad? Duke Zhenguo was bitten by a snake once, and he was afraid of straw ropes for ten years! But I also think that the new king would not repeat the late emperor's mistakes. The father and son were not all the same!"
The letter from the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion arrived at the end of the month, and after the beginning of spring, the Empress Dowager brought Zhou Xuejun into the Cining Palace. She clearly knew what was going on at that time, and she did this to express her opinion to the outside world: Even if Duke Zhenguo was seriously ill or even died, Duke Zhenguo's mansion temporarily lost the power of the border army, and Zhou Xuejun's throne was still as stable as before. Empress Dowager Xu and Xinjun had no objection to this. The former would send many rewards to the two dear guests in Cining Palace every day, and the latter would also occasionally look for his fiancée to talk and play to cultivate feelings. It was obvious that he was also standing on the side of the Empress Dowager and expressing his attitude to the outside world.
Haijiao said, "In this way, even if Miss Xuejun in Zhou's family is not backed by the Northwest Army, she and Xinjun still have the friendship of childhood sweethearts to support her. Xinjun will not be disrespectful to her because of the changes in her mother's power. If the royal family really thinks this way, they can keep their promises in the future, and the Zhou family will be more at ease, right?"
Once the Zhou family knew that the new king and the late emperor were not the same, and would not be as mean and rude as the late emperor, they would definitely be more loyal to the new king and guard the border for the court in the future.
Haitang sighed relieved when he heard this and said, "I don't care about the relationship between the royal family, the court and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Anyway, Zhou Xuejun will not be affected. In fact, even if Duke of Zhenguo has a good life, Zhou Xuejun's family background is prominent enough. General Zhou Thursday was still the confidant and humerus of the late emperor's death. After the new king ascended the throne, he made a contribution to rescue the emperor. With such a status and qualifications, why can't his daughter sit firmly in the rear?
"A good queen clan, in fact, as long as he is innocent, decent, upright and law-abiding enough, can protect the queen and the emperor, can contribute to the emperor, keep his political stance consistent with the emperor, and will not threaten the imperial power, this is enough. Zhou Xuejun's family is in line with everything, and should be the best candidate for the queen clan. The late emperor suffered for his relatives all his life, and he always hoped to weaken the power of the foreign relatives before his death. Now Zhou Xuejun's family still meets his requirements. The general on Thursday cannot control the imperial guards alone, and is not a parent-child of the Duke of the State, and does not hold real power in the court. Isn't it more reassuring? If he really has no power and ability, who should the new king find when he encounters difficulties? Who should he find when he encounters difficulties? Where to do business? "Haijiao smiled: "Your words are reasonable. In fact, Duke Zhenguo ordered General Zhou to send a letter to General Zhou Thursday, and agreed that he would separate his sons when he passed away. The general on Thursday was independent of his own, and his power would be even weaker, but it would also reassure the court. Zhou Yijun has received the news that the new king would give his future father-in-law a house in a few days, and then the four of them would move out of the Chengen Marquis' Mansion. If it was time to move, there would be no letter of mourning in Chang'an. Maybe their family would hold a banquet? I have agreed to attend. My little sister, please prepare a generous gift for me."