prosperous age

Chapter 200 Chapter 199
Xiyuan, Yongshou Palace.

Emperor Jiajing sat at the top and looked at his ruling team below. The cabinet, the six ministries and the six ministries of the Inspectorate and more than a dozen ministers bowed down. At this time, only Minister Nie Bao of the Ministry of War and Minister Fang Du of the Ministry of Households stood Arguing in the middle.

Nie Bao analyzed the Xuanfu's warning against the enemy's situation and the actions the court should take, while Fang Dun explained the difficulty of raising money and food for the Ministry of Households, and was unable to support Xu Shangshu's war preparation plan.

Well, wars are actually about money and food.

Nie Bao’s analysis of the movement of the Ministry of Defense, in fact, when they entered the Yongshou Palace, everyone already knew it well, the focus is actually on the final response, how to prevent the invasion of the Ministry of Defense.

According to Nie Bao's plan, it is to mobilize the entire Beizhili guards to press forward, and the Jizhen army will dispatch reinforcements to all the passes along the Great Wall. .

But the problem is that there are hundreds of miles along the entire Great Wall, and dozens of passes, large and small, how to defend?

As far as the tens of thousands of people in Ji Town are concerned, there are only a thousand people left at the pass below, so what can they do?
The most important thing is that this time it is necessary to mobilize more than [-] troops in most of the guards in the northern Zhili area, and more than [-] taels of silver need to be allocated first. The military supplies along the way are also a large sum of money, and the household department is crying poor Shout out of money.

Now Fang Dun and Nie Bao are standing in the hall arguing, one side insists that so many soldiers must be mobilized to fight in order to withstand the attack of the Alta Department, while the other side insists that it is impossible to raise so much money and food.

"enough."

While the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households were arguing with each other, time passed quietly, Emperor Jiajing was getting impatient, and interrupted the two people who were still chattering in the palace.

After finishing speaking, Emperor Jiajing looked at the others. The only ones who could have anything to do with the war were the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households. The Ministry of Industry and the inner court had already stated that they would prepare sufficient weapons and armor for the army, so it was not involved. Come in.

Look at the Ministers of the Ministry of Punishment, Ministry of Officials, and Ministry of Rites below, as well as Dali Siqing, Zuodu Yushi, etc. Since entering Yongshou Palace, they have watched their eyes, noses, noses, noses, and hearts. Besides, nothing else, Emperor Jiajing also put out the idea of ​​asking them.

All of them used to be able to speak and argue in the court. In the past, even when encountering military affairs, they dared to speak out and quarrel. But today I heard that the Ministry of Defense may raid the Great Wall Pass again. , Only then did they become honest one by one.

It seems that this was the case a few years ago.

Emperor Jiajing fell into memories. It was the 29th year of Jiajing. After governing the country conscientiously, the Ming Dynasty had developed and flourished. If it weren't for the continuous natural disasters, the Ming Dynasty at that time would have far surpassed its previous peak national strength and achieved a Haiyan Heqing , the prosperous scene of Guotai Minan.

But in August of that year, the Mongolian Alta tribe, who had never been taken seriously by him, suddenly invaded. Although there were constant wars on the side wall before, after all, it was all small fights that could not affect the overall situation, but that time was real. I lost all my face.

Tens of thousands of Mongols were able to raid the vicinity of the capital to burn, kill and loot, but the frontier army who thought they could fight seemed to fear the enemy and fight timidly.

In the beginning, the ministers in these positions were able to speak out impassionedly, as if one person could be worth a million soldiers, but after the Tartars invaded Huairou and Shunyi, they all pretended to be deaf and dumb, and no longer dared to speak out. It's so similar to the performance of these people now.

There was a new batch of people at the beginning, but I didn't expect that the current one is still the same.

In deep disappointment, Emperor Jiajing looked to his left cabinet members.

"What's the cabinet's opinion? Tell me."

There are currently three cabinet ministers, namely Yan Song, the richest man, Xu Jie, the second assistant, and Lu Ben, the third assistant.

Originally, Lu Ben was supposed to be the second assistant, but his health has been failing in the past two years, so he has fewer things to take care of. Xu Jie has become the second person in the cabinet. Today's matter is very important, so he also came.

Apparently the cabinet already had a plan before. After Xu Jie and Lu Ben looked at each other, they looked at Yan Song who was standing in the front.

After many years of tacit understanding, Xu Jie knew that this was the plan that Yan Song asked him to discuss before the cabinet came.

Without too much hesitation, Xu Jie stood up and bowed to the Emperor Jiajing above before saying: "Your Majesty, after the cabinet received the news, our cabinet discussed it and believed that the current financial resources of the imperial court cannot support the mobilization of the army to participate. To the Great Wall defense line.

Therefore, it is suggested that on the one hand, the army of the guards should be convened to train diligently and be ready to fight at any time;

At the same time, it is also necessary to order Xuanfu and Datong Bianzhen to deploy troops to be ready to enter the guards to reinforce Jizhen at any time, so as to prevent the Alda tribe from breaking through the Guancheng and harassing the surrounding areas of Gyeonggi. "

After Xu Jie finished speaking the cabinet's opinion, he bowed and retreated, and the rest depended on the emperor's attitude.

However, according to past practice, the emperor considered the opinions given by the Ministry of War more for such a major military event. After all, it was a government office prepared for war. No matter what the final result was, the Ministry of War must finally bear the responsibility.

"What is the opinion of the Ministry of War? What do the other ministries have to say?"

Emperor Jiajing accepted the cabinet's opinion after a little thought, but still asked other people's opinions.

As a result of Nie Bao's discussions with the Ministry of War at the beginning, it can be seen from the urgent report sent by the Xuanfu that the Ministry of Defense intends to repeat the old trick and raid the capital again. It is for safety that it has formulated a plan to mobilize a large number of surrounding guards to participate in the war. I hope Taking advantage of the high mountains in the north to seriously weaken the advantage of the Mongol cavalry, it severely damaged the Alta tribe, so that it would no longer dare to have the idea of ​​​​invading the south.

As for the imperial court having no money to mobilize the army, this is not within the consideration of the Ministry of War.

In a war, they will only be credited if they win, and if they lose, they will go to the field in embarrassment. How to choose is still very simple.

The Ministry of Households obstructed them from implementing the agreed plan on the grounds of lack of money. In fact, it only relieved a little responsibility for the Ministry of War, but it did not help much, so Nie Bao did not intend to back down. He insisted on arguing with Fang Dun in the hall, hoping to get The support of Emperor Jiajing suppressed the household department.

In the deduction of Nie Bao and the servants of the left and right, as long as the army of Jizhen can drag the tartars into the mountains, as the surrounding guards arrive continuously, even if it is encirclement and annihilation, it is not impossible to capture me alive. Great achievements, can be a snow "Gengxu change" humiliating opportunity.

However, just now, after Xu Jie expressed the cabinet's opinion, Emperor Jiajing's attitude has changed very clearly. He has no plans to fight according to the ideas of the Ministry of War. other.

However, for the benefit of the Ministry of War, Fang Dun still planned to take a gamble.

"His Majesty."

Fang Dun stood up again, first saluted Emperor Jiajing, and then said: "It is feasible to send ministers to patrol the border, but it can't solve the crisis that is close at hand. It has been a few days since I Dabu left the Xuanfu, count the time, I am afraid that I am already looking for the weak pass in the Great Wall pass between Xuanfu and Jizhen, and I am ready to launch a surprise attack.

At this time, apart from mobilizing the Jizhen army for emergency reinforcements, it is difficult to guarantee the stability of the border wall before that. Even if the patrol ministers go, there are not enough guards on the Great Wall pass, and it is difficult to defend against the onslaught of the Tartars. "

"But the Ministry of Household Affairs can't transfer money and food, and the mobilization of the army requires a lot, so how to solve it?"

Emperor Jiajing frowned and asked.

When arguing bluntly with Shangshu Fang of the household department before, he understood what the Ministry of War was up to, but he didn't dare to bet.

A few years ago, Emperor Jiajing was still not blind when the Xuanda border army returned to defend Gyeonggi, so he naturally knew it clearly through the secret report of Jinyiwei.

Although some personnel adjustments have been made in recent years, the foundation of the Guards Army is already rotten, and it is not expected to undergo fundamental changes in the short term.

The guard house is now something even the emperor fears.

How his cousin died, he did not investigate clearly, but how Liu Jin died is very clear.

Emperor Zhengde liked martial arts, so Liu Jin followed suit and wanted to re-clear the guards and restore the military strength of the guards. Then, the civil servant group and the Xungui group above the court joined forces. Done.

The things Liu Jin did before only affected the civil servants, not the Xungui Group, and the civil servants were still attached to the imperial power in the end. Even though their influence spread all over the world and could influence the court situation, the knife was still missing .

After mobilizing the interests of the civil servants group, Liu Jin chose to mobilize the interests of the honorable group with honor and support from Zhengde's favor and support, and was finally killed by the joint efforts of both parties.

Well, Emperor Jiajing looked down on such a guard, but he didn't want to provoke it, it was too troublesome.

If you have obtained the technique of longevity and have enough time, you can also consider how to slowly deal with these cancerous tumors.

Emperor Jiajing was already disappointed with the millions of Ming troops on paper, so he didn't think that according to the plan of the Ministry of War, the Alta Ministry could be wiped out of the mountains.

The most worrying thing is, don't be rushed out and killed under the walls of the capital. He has no troops to mobilize. That is the most dangerous situation.

After Emperor Jiajing finished speaking, Nie Bao fell silent.

"Does anyone else have any opinions? Tell them all."

Seeing that Nie Bao was silent, Emperor Jiajing asked others.

"Respectfully, Your Majesty's Holy Judgment."

There was a tacit understanding, the other five ministers and the minister didn't say much, and returned the ball.

"Is there a candidate for a border minister in the cabinet?"

There is no other way to see other people, and Emperor Jiajing has no other choice at this time, he can only consider the opinions of the cabinet.

Xu Jie stood up again at this time and said loudly: "The cabinet recommended Weng Pu, the right servant of the Ministry of War. Weng Pu has served in many places and has made a lot of contributions to the system. He even proposed to take charge of the affairs of King Yiyang's Ningguo Mansion. Suggestion, now the eight Ningfu families have no objections.

Since he was transferred to the Ministry of War, he has also been diligent in the affairs of the king. Last year, he rectified the Beijing camp and restored the three major battalions. Weng Shilang is very good at military and civil affairs. This patrol is not only to urge the border troops to strengthen combat readiness, but also to solve There are some contradictions in the local area, and the cabinet believes that he can take on the task of patrolling the border. "

"Xu Shangshu, do you have a candidate?"

Emperor Jiajing didn't give an answer immediately, but asked Nie Bao's opinion.

"I have no objection."

Nie Bao just bowed.

"What about you? Do you have any candidates for the border minister?"

Emperor Jiajing frowned slightly, and then asked the others if there were any candidates for him to choose from.

"The minister has no objection."

What was waiting was still the neat answer.

Emperor Jiajing looked at them and then at the cabinet ministers. At this time, they all bowed their heads and waited for him to make a final decision. Although he had the power in his hands, he couldn't feel the feeling that the world was in his hands.

"Let's draw up an order. Weng Pu, the right servant of the Ministry of War of the Jin Dynasty, has the title of censor of the right capital of the Procuratorate, to inspect Jizhen and Xuanda."

In the end, Emperor Jiajing accepted the cabinet's opinion. Although Weng Pu had no experience in leading troops to fight in person, he did serve as the chief official of too many lands and patrolled Huguang and Jiangxi.

It has been more than two years since I was transferred to the Ministry of War, so I should be able to do it in terms of experience.

After speaking, Emperor Jiajing inadvertently looked at a piece of crumpled calligraphy on one side of the case. There were only four characters on it, and they were all written in cursive script. It can be seen from crumpling that the writer didn't take it too seriously. After writing, he crumpled it up and threw it away.

"Rarely confused."

Emperor Jiajing recited it silently in his heart, then looked at the ministers of His Highness, and then turned his head to look at the word again.

The words are not brilliant, but what Emperor Jiajing saw from these words was a way of doing things. Facing all kinds of troubles in the world, he might as well treat them with a relaxed and tolerant attitude.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing lost the disdain he had when the painting was first delivered, and suddenly realized the deeper connotation of the painting.

"Isn't that the way that kid is an official?"

Emperor Jiajing was still comprehending the rich philosophy in this painting, when such an idea popped up in his mind for no reason.

Walking in the officialdom with this principle is a slippery trick. I just hope that "rarely confused" will not become "irresponsible without distinction between right and wrong".

Thinking of this, Emperor Jiajing glanced at the ministers in the room, none of whom had been on the battlefield in person, stood up suddenly, and said again: "Wei Guangde, a concubine of the Hanlin Academy, is a reviewer of the Imperial Academy and a deputy patrol envoy, along with Weng Pu." Tour along the Great Wall."

As soon as he got the emperor's decree, Xu Jie had already sat aside behind the writing desk, picked up the brush on the pen stand and dipped it in the inkstone. According to the imperial edict, after Emperor Jiajing saw that there was no problem, he could be immediately approved by the Supervisor of Rituals, and the Military Section was on duty to send it out.

Just as Xu Jie was furiously writing, he was taken aback when he heard Emperor Jiajing's decree again, but he didn't dare to delay at this time, he had to write this edict in one go.

"Your Majesty, Wei Guangde was appointed as a review within two months of entering the Imperial Academy. This is not in line with the ancestral system. At least he will have to wait until the hall is closed."

Everyone else was amazed in their hearts what kind of shit luck Wei Guangde and Wei Chuanlu had had to be so favored by the emperor. Jane was in the emperor's heart, and Yan Song, who had been silent before, frowned inadvertently, but one person had already stood up to object .

Emperor Jiajing glanced at Wu Shan. As the Minister of Rites, he is indeed qualified to speak out against the decision he just made.

However, since the decision has been made, will it be changed?

(End of this chapter)