Chapter 227: The Son's Letter

The envelope was precisely a family letter from Zhu Gaoxu to Zhu Di.

He had to inform his old man about his plans in the North, no matter what.

As Zhu Di opened the envelope, Zhu Gaoxu's handwriting came into view.

Father, I, your son, offer my respects from afar in the North.

Is Father in good health?

Is Mother in good health?

Your son thinks of you constantly.

Your son is doing well in the North, so please do not worry, Father.

Your son is well aware that Father is currently walking on thin ice in Jingcheng.

Therefore, I have been constantly worried about Father in my heart.

This trip to the North was mainly to win over some local officials.

These local officials have identities that are inherently intricate and complex.

Most of them are backed by the gentry of the North.

Moreover, there are also quite a few local military officers among them.

In this way, the provinces of the North will be under control, and at the same time, I hope Father can find some official positions in the imperial court.

In a few days, I will send Father a list and find a way to arrange for the people on the list to return to the capital so they can have a position in the court.

If this is done, I believe Father's days should be much easier and not so difficult.

Additionally, although the court's reaction to my making such a big scene in the North will be a bit slow, they will get the news sooner or later.

When that time comes, Father must withstand the pressure.

Once we weather this wave, the entire North will be ours to command.

I will state my specific plan below; it is mainly to let you be prepared and, at the same time, to deal with the pressure from the court.

By a stroke of luck, I arrived in Shandong first.

Barring any accidents, by the time you see this letter, at least half of the officials in Shandong will already be under your son's control.

As for the rest, your son will try every possible means to get rid of them.

Either make them join us, or find a way to have them transferred away.

Or frame them for corruption and bribery, etc.; in any case, just make them step down.

By the way, a portion of these northern officials were arranged by the Civil Official Group.

Moreover, these people are high-ranking officials; Father and I can coordinate to get this group sent to the South.

The interests in the South have long been allocated.

But these people are, after all, their own kind; once they have no official post, their ranks are still there.

One cannot just arrange them casually like third or fourth-rank officials.

When the time comes to arrange for these people to take office, it will inevitably conflict with another group of their own people.

I imagine this matter will also give them a headache for a while.

Your son still needs to plan this matter carefully; when the time comes, Father can voice slight support in the court.

I imagine Imperial Grandfather would also like to watch such a play.

However, your son must still be a bit long-winded here.

If we do this, it means we are going to strike, or rather, it is more appropriate to call it a formal counterattack.

After all, that group has already attacked us many times.

As we formally counterattack, I believe the other side will also take action.

And their actions will only become larger.

And more intense.

I suspect that you, Father, will not be able to withstand the pressure.

But even so, do not be anxious.

If it comes to the worst, just pretend to admit defeat first.

And if things really develop to that point, Father, you can retreat to advance.

Once you feel you cannot hold up under the pressure, do not force yourself.

You can take the initiative to resign; although it is very risky, it is also a move.

You take the initiative to resign to Imperial Grandfather; the reason you have been able to stay in Jingcheng for so long is entirely because of Imperial Grandfather.

Imperial Grandfather, not knowing what he is thinking, wants to keep you in Jingcheng.

So if Imperial Grandfather does not want you to leave, you cannot leave even if you take the initiative to resign.

In this way, you can reduce some pressure.

Of course, it is also possible that the plan backfires.

Imperial Grandfather grants your request to leave the capital and return to your fief.

If that happens, do not be afraid either.

But there is one point: you cannot return immediately.

When that time comes, no matter what excuse you find, drag it out one day at a time.

At worst, just lose all sense of shame and give everyone the impression that you still harbor fantasies and want to hold onto a glimmer of hope.

I believe that by then, no one will be willing to continue making things difficult for us.

And the reason for doing this is that your son needs to use your prestige in Jingcheng to get things done in the North.

If you were to return, many things would actually become harder to do.

And I believe that by the time you return, we will already have actual control over the North.

Then this time we will not have lost out, and we will not have made the trip in vain.

When the time comes, we can slowly look for an opportunity, and we will still be able to go back.

However, the probability of this is not high, and I believe Imperial Grandfather should not agree to it.

My saying this is also to give Father a heads-up in advance, so that Father can be mentally prepared.

I will move the high-level officials of the North to the capital, promote the officials below, and finally do those great clans a favor.

I will distribute the officials below among them.

Once all of this is done, the entire North will be considered thoroughly ours.

That is roughly the idea; I have basically finished speaking about the matter of the officials in the North, so if Father has any instructions, please send someone to deliver a message to me.

In addition, I am currently in urgent need of some trustworthy ministers and personnel in other areas in the North.

Father has operated in the North for many years, so I imagine you should have such talents.

After all, my subordinates are currently all just a bunch of rough men.

There are many things that it is not appropriate to ask the newly defected officials to do.