That night, Zhou Zheng did not sleep, sat under the eaves, shaking his rocking chair, and carefully thinking about the current situation.

The Ming court's focus had shifted from Liaodong to the northwest. The bandits had already destroyed the entire five northwest provinces, and they repeatedly attacked the hinterland of Shanxi and approached the capital.

The pessimistic atmosphere between the government and the country was extremely strong, and many nobles had moved their families to the south; alleys were spreading all over the streets and alleys, and the people were exhausted.

Zhou Zheng looked at the cold moonlight, his face was deserted, and he kept thinking, scrutinizing, analyzing the pros and cons, and related plans.

Shangguan Qing came out of it, put on a soft quilt on Zhou Zheng, and whispered: "Shen'er is asleep."

Zhou Zheng turned his head and looked at her, pulled the quilt, and said, "What do you think of what my father said today?"

Shangguan Qing squatted beside Zhou Zheng, blinking his still beautiful eyes, and said, "Don't go."

Zhou Zheng was stunned and couldn't help but smile and said, "I thought you were going to say, wherever I went."

Shangguan Qing glared at Zhou Zheng and said, "Our foundation is in the east, and we are involved in the northwest, not in your plan."

Shangguan Qing is Zhou Zheng's pillow. Even if Zhou Zheng doesn't say anything deliberately, Shangguan Qing can still see some clues.

Zhou Zheng put away his teasing look, turned to look at the dark front, nodded and said, "I have been waiting for an opportunity. It was originally a few years before that opportunity. If I went to the northwest, it would be possible to accelerate this time, but it would also be possible to fail and the years of plans were wasted. The best way is to sit in the capital and watch the storm and wait quietly."

Shangguan Qing looked at Zhou Zheng's side face, snuggled up to his arm, and whispered: "I know you don't want to wait, you don't want to waste time. Then think of a solution from another place."

"elsewhere?"

Zhou Zheng was slightly stunned, then thought about something, and for a moment, shook his head and said, "There is nowhere else."

It is impossible to make a mistake in the Ming Dynasty, and it must go deeper into it!

Zhou Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the cold Yueguan, and said to himself: "There is nowhere else, so I can only go further..."

Shangguan Qing looked at Zhou Zheng’s side face, knew that he had made up his mind, and whispered: “Shen’er is still young, if you are older, I will be with you.”

Zhou Zheng pressed her hand and said, "Well, I'll feel relieved at home. If one day there is danger in the capital, remember me, take your father, your family, and other relatives and friends with you, and take everything you can with you. Go to Tianjin Wei for a while, don't be lucky, do you know?"

Shangguan Qing blinked and said, "Is it really so dangerous?"

If the rioters attacked the capital, wouldn’t the Ming Dynasty really destroy the country?

Zhou Zheng shook his head and said, "It's not good to say it. Looking at the past and present, this is like a chaotic world. The change of dynasties seems to be right in front of him. People in the capital are panic, which is not unreasonable."

Shangguan Qing nodded, snuggled up to Zhou Zheng, looking at the cold moonlight.

...

The next morning, Zhou Zheng talked about his decision with Zhou Qingli at the dinner table.

Zhou Qingli was not surprised and told him: "The bandits are not Jianlu, we must deal with them carefully. The troops from all walks of life are even more chaotic than Liaodong and cannot be taken lightly. You have decided to meet Zhang Shangshu, and in the court, he needs his support."

Zhou Zheng nodded and said, "I will go to the Ministry of War later."

Zhou Qingli didn't say anything anymore. Zhou Zheng's decision was as expected by him, 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.

This time, Zhou Zheng was very surprised to see Zhang Fengyi.

Zhang Fengyi was originally in excellent spirits, but now his temples are gray and he seems to have been aged for dozens of years.

Zhang Fengyi looked at Zhou Zheng coming in, stood up with a smile, hunched over, and said, "I thought you blamed me and refused to come to see me."

Zhang Fengyi talked about Zhou Zheng coming back from Lushun and being arrested and imprisoned.

Zhou Zheng raised his hand and said, "My lord is joking. What does this matter have to do with me? I have to thank you for dealing with me."

Zhang Fengyi waved his hand, sat down aside, and said, "I'm going to enter the palace later, so I'll tell you what you want."

Zhou sat down beside Zhang Fengyi, looking at his tired expression, thinking about his age, he was in a bad mood, and after thinking about it for a moment, he said, "Sir, I heard you recommend me to be the Prime Minister of the five northwest provinces?"

The Prime Minister and the Governor General have almost the same meaning, but they have a biased position in their power.

Zhang Fengyi nodded and said, "I have this idea, but can it be a big deal? Don't you want to go?"

Zhou Zheng said: "The Xiaguan wants to go, but he doesn't have any soldiers and needs help from adults."

Zhang Fengyi frowned and said nothing.

Zhou Zheng looked at his expression and said, "Sir, are there any difficulties?"

Zhang Fengyi picked up the teacup and said, "Drink tea."

Zhou Zheng changed his mind and took a sip.

With this buffer, Zhang Fengyi slowly said: "The situation in the court is a bit complicated. The emperor does not trust me as much as before. The Chinese have lost all their lives. The responsibility lies with me. Perhaps, it won't take long to retire, or it may be imprisoned."

Only then did Zhou Zheng realize that he had forgotten this!

Zhou Zheng put down the teacup and thought about it carefully.

If he said this, 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 are worried about the northwest, and the same is true for the adults in the court. Although I have recommended you, I cannot guarantee it. Lu Xiangsheng is also very good, Yuan Fu and others are optimistic about him."

In terms of military merit, Zhou Zheng was better than Lu Xiangsheng, but Zhou Zheng had a "stain" and was sentenced to prison. Also, Zhou Zheng was a Juren, and Lu Xiangsheng was a Jinshi.

Zhou Zheng knew that Lu Xiangsheng died in the suppression of bandits, so he thought about it seriously and said, "Sir, what is the chance of winning at the lower ranks?"

Zhang Fengyi picked up the teacup again and said, "If you can decide before May, you will have a chance of winning 80% if you exceed May, you will not have a chance of winning."

Zhou Zheng's mouth moved. It was not yet the first month of the year. It was such a big thing that the court would have to delay for a year or two?

Zhang Fengyi didn't say much, and stood up and said, "If you have any questions, come to me directly and don't make a decision without authorization. You can go back first, I have to enter the palace."

Zhou Zheng had no choice but to stand up and raised his hand and said, "The Lord is leaving."

Zhang Fengyi waved his hand, turned around and picked up a few memorials on the desk, and went out in front of Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng went out of the Ministry of War, but did not feel the inefficiency of the court, but was thinking about other methods.

After returning home, Zhou Zheng talked about the Ministry of War with his father Zhou.

Zhou Qingli was speechless for a long time, and finally could only sigh: "This is the case in the state, what can you do if you do..."

"I'll think of something else." Zhou Zheng said. Since he decided to get involved in the chaos in the northwest, Zhou Zheng naturally would not end halfway.

Zhou Qingli didn't say anything more, what else could she say?

As Zhang Fengyi said, the defeat of the Northwest Vietnam and the fiercer the court's struggle, the court has been slow to choose another prime minister of the five northwest provinces.

This dispute took May, and in August, the decision was made after the summer grain was collected.

That is, Lu Xiangsheng served as prime ministers of five provinces and also as governor of Huguang. Hong Chengchou was responsible for the northwest of the five provinces and Lu Xiangsheng hosted the southeast.

Surprisingly, Zhou Zheng, who had been unemployed for nearly a year, was revived again and served as the "Governor of the Right Deputy Chief of Shandong", that is, the Governor of Shandong.

Zhou Zhengze was responsible for clearing out the Daming Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture and Henan bandits in Shandong, northern Zhili.

This order came very suddenly, and even Zhang Fengyi had no news before, as if it was the result of Chongzhen alone, Gan Gang's arbitrary...

Zhou Qingli was full of worry about this person's appointment.

Zhou Zheng was calm and composed, saying goodbye to his little family and quickly took office in Shandong.

The Shandong Governor seems to have nothing to do with the northwest, but with the evolution of the northwest chaos, Zhou Zheng, the Shandong Governor, will inevitably go to the northwest to suppress bandits!

Zhou Zheng arrived in Shandong without saying nonsense, mobilized his old subordinates and quickly reorganized the army.

Governor Denglai was under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Shandong, Jin Guoqi, Zhang Cunren, He Kegang and others were still his subordinates.
Chapter completed!