The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 135 There is no airtight wall
The Spring Festival of the 12th year of Hongzhi.

Zhu Youtang was very happy to present a banquet at the Meridian Gate. When he came back, the sky had already darkened, and he was ready to go to Kunning Palace to live a good two-person world with Queen Zhang through the strength of wine.

"The medicine Bing Kuan gave me before really works. It's better than Li Guang's. It's gentler and has always been distracted."

Zhu Youtang has recently been exercising in the sun, drinking milk tea, eating eggs, eating stick bones, etc., a series of protein supplements and calcium supplements, and his physical fitness has recovered a lot. Zhang Zhou will add some extra ingredients that he could not use before. Then he felt alive and alive again when he was young.

Xiao Jing followed beside him, subconsciously helping him when he crossed the steps.

"No, I'll go by myself."

Zhu Youtang now has a man's self-confidence, and feels that he has the conditions to take off.

Xiao Jingdao: "Your Majesty, there will be a grand priest tomorrow..."

"I remember, you don't have to talk about it all the time." Zhu Youtang raised his head and took a breath of air. The side thought that he was going to be carried into Kunning Palace in a Luanjia as before, but he only paused for a while. Afterwards, Yoyo sighed, "As Bingkuan said, the air here is very fresh. Where's Bingkuan?"

Xiao Jing didn't expect that Zhu Youtang would think of Zhang Zhou at such a time.

Xiao Jing said cautiously: "Go back to Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang went to Xishan a few years ago, and he hasn't returned yet."

"Go to Xishan?"

Zhu Youtang didn't understand for a moment.

Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, didn't he say that he was going to open a coal mine in Xishan? I don't know what he's thinking, and I haven't been back with my family for years."

"The same is true for Bingkuan. He said that he had to prepare for the exam and had no time to enter the palace, but he ran to Xishan to open a coal mine. He should be able to find it, right?"

"Mr. Zhang is good at calculating heaven's secrets, and he will be able to measure this after all."

"Yes, yes."

"By the way, Your Majesty, before Mr. Zhang left, he predicted three things in the coming year, saying that they are all likely to happen in the near future, and that they will cooperate with tomorrow's grand sacrifice, and all the predicted things will be reported to the Qianqing Palace."

When Zhu Youtang heard this, his face was displeased and he said, "Why don't you come and report to me first if there is such a thing?"

Xiao Jing said with a bitter face: "It was also just submitted. However, only the first sentence of the prophecy given by Mr. Zhang was annotated by him. It seems that there will be earthquakes in Shaanxi, Ningxia and other places in February. As for the prophecy of the second He didn’t say anything about the second and third, and he also stated that he would not do this kind of thing again in the future, and he can’t predict many things.”

"what for?"

Xiao Jingdao: "It seems that it may involve disputes among nobles, and the heavens will give a warning. Because it hasn't happened, so...he didn't say it clearly..."

"This Bingkuan, how can he learn how to play charades?"

Zhu Youtang smiled wryly.

This doesn't seem to fit with Zhang Zhou's straight-forward personality.

Xiao Jingxin said, before Zhang Zhou said that there was going to be an earthquake in Henan, Your Majesty, you were so looking forward to it, and you were so happy when it came true, as if you were blessed by God.

Feelings Now that Zhang Zhou predicts an earthquake, you don’t take it as a rare thing, you just want to know what he predicts later...

Sure enough, even His Majesty's appetite gradually increased.

"Your Majesty, perhaps, there are some things that are still uncertain. After all, Mr. Zhang said that when something is imminent, it depends on the signs."

"Yeah. Okay, with him here, I can rest assured. Drive to Jiaotai Palace."

"Your Majesty, isn't it Kunning Palace?"

After Xiao Jing said it, he realized that he had made a slip of the tongue.

If the emperor wants to go to the Jiaotai Palace, he has to listen to the emperor.

Who told the former empress dowager to say in her dream that the former emperor gave the warning in Jiaotai Palace?If it had been because the emperor took Kunning Palace as his home, it would have resulted in no heirs...

Where is the rationale for this kind of thing?

Superstitious?
……

……

It was no longer possible for Zhang Zhou to be like before, always wanting to make a prophecy for the emperor or something. Now the emperor came to ask for it, and he would only give it, sometimes even half-hidden.

After all, this was the emperor's expectation of him.

To put it bluntly, he can neither count too much, nor can he count too much, just hang the emperor's appetite.

This reflects the importance of being a Jinshi in the examination.

If you pass the Jinshi examination, you don’t need to rely on these crooked things anymore, you can gain the emperor’s trust in the right way, and become a good minister who governs the country, but if you don’t pass the Jinshi and accept the emperor’s dismissal, then this kind of thing may happen frequently in the future .

If Zhang Zhou was favored again by relying on his status as a Jinshi, he would at most be a lecturer in the Eastern Palace, and he would not be able to win the favor of today's Long.

If you want to change the times, you have to take a path that no one else has taken, and rely on what you know about historical events to gain the trust of the emperor, and at the same time let the emperor cooperate with you to complete some things, such as opening mines and mobilizing craftsmen, etc., which is no better than him. Is the regular imperial examination smoother?

Do you have to stay in court for a few years or even ten years, and wait until your status is improved before proceeding?

Zhang Zhou was afraid that he couldn't afford it.

Knowing the events that may happen in future history is also a necessary knowledge reserve for the traveler. There is an emperor who believes in Taoism and metaphysics, and he uses these things. As long as Zhang Zhou's heart is not evil, he doesn't care what those civil servants think. he.

It is good to leave a name in history with the integrity of civil servants, but obviously this road is not suitable for travelers, because any travelers are deviant and like to do things that are not tolerated by the literati.

They were all breaking the rules, Zhang Zhou just felt that he had to do it more thoroughly.

……

……

The next day is the big sacrifice.

The ten-day holiday of the Shangyuan Festival has not yet come, and they still have to go up and down in the past few days. For Zhu Youtang, even if he is sick, he will participate in this kind of court meeting.

But Zhu Youtang did not show up at the Meridian Gate on time that day.

All the ministers are discussing.

The three members of the cabinet alone called Ma Wensheng, Minister of the Ministry of War, aside.

"Negative picture, the Northwest Reporter said that the Xuanfu and the Datong line had successive military dispatches at the end of the year. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, you should know about this, right?"

There is no impenetrable wall in this world.

Wang Yue's going to the northwest is already a very confidential matter, and only a handful of people in the court know about it.

But as Wang Yue arrived in the northwest, he was eager to fight, and there were always some internal movements. Liu Jian usually paid attention to the performances in the northwest, and naturally found unusual signs.

Ma Wensheng shook his head, expressing that he could not say anything.

If Ma Wensheng expressed surprise, or inquired in reverse, Liu Jian might still think that there was no such thing, and that he had a suspicious attack.

But judging by Ma Wensheng's face, he clearly knew it and refused to say it.

Li Dongyang on the side asked, "Wang Weining?"

Ma Wensheng looked at him sideways, but didn't say a word.

The emperor only said that I would not tell others, but he did not specify how I should respond when others asked me, and I did not admit it. I can't blame me for leaking this matter, right?Please show me the evidence!
This almost default method also made the three members of the cabinet feel uneasy.

Liu Jian said: "What is your Majesty going to do? As soon as the Northwest stopped, the war will start again?"

Xie Qian said with a smile on the side: "Your Majesty will not let Wang Weining send troops, right? It's just a little scheduling, Mr. Liu Ge, don't worry too much."

This was all to test Ma Wensheng's attitude on purpose.

Ma Wensheng still has the attitude of knowing everything, but I just don't say anything, listening to the three members of the cabinet discussing on their own.

"Your Majesty is here!"

Just as he was talking, the emperor came.

Zhu Youtang also came on foot, perhaps it was because he was used to walking by himself now that he came a little late.

The court meeting that day also officially began.

……

……

There were no disturbances in the court meeting.

But after the court meeting, Liu Jian took the initiative to ask for instructions to meet with the emperor alone to play the matter.

All the ministers left the palace first and waited to go to the Temple of Heaven and Earth in the southern suburbs. Only Liu Jian stayed at the Meridian Gate temporarily.

"...Your Majesty, the reports from the Xuanfu and Datong indicate that the soldiers and horses have been dispatched recently, and they are leaning towards Piantouguan and other places. In addition, the 3 taels of silver allocated by the Ministry of Finance a few years ago was originally used for propaganda. The repair of the earthen castles around Fuzhen seems to have been embezzled..."

Liu Jian's feedback from Ma Wensheng is almost certain that this is the case.

But he still had to tell the emperor from a "professional" point of view that this matter was detected by himself through some signs, and it was not intentionally leaked by others.

Zhu Youtang didn't change much after listening to it, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Liu Ge, Wang Weining has been serving troops in the Northwest for many years, he will be measured."

Liu Jian said: "But Your Majesty, now that the northwest is peaceful, why do you want to create trouble?"

Zhu Youtang was a little unhappy when he heard this.

Speak well, I am still willing to discuss with you, Mr. Liu Ge, but you don't know why I have to hide it from you?
That's because you always like to block me with some great principles. When it comes to military affairs, you want to persuade me to put more emphasis on agriculture and mulberry than corvee, what emphasis is placed on culture and rule over military equipment, and what is said about the people of Ming Dynasty living and working in peace and contentment. The Northwest Frontier Defense naturally followed suit...

Isn't this your civil officials' wishful thinking?

Dai Yi reminded with a smile: "Old Liu Ge, you are worrying too much. This time His Majesty just asked Wang Weining to defend in the northwest, fearing that the Tatars will invade."

Liu Jian said: "Your Majesty, if the fortress of the Northwest Fortress is fully built, and the patrols and dispatches are also being perfected, why worry so much?"

Zhu Youtang frowned and said: "Mr. Liu Ge thinks that I am worrying about others?"

Of course Liu Jian would not say that, and he continued: "Your Majesty, the soldiers and horses were drawn from the original defensive town and gathered in one place. This will lead to insufficient defense and reinforcements everywhere, which is the root cause of the crisis in the northwest frontier."

In fact, Liu Jian didn't understand either.

It's fine for you, Wang Yue, to go to the northwest. What's the point of gathering soldiers and horses from all over the place in one place?
Also said that you old boy don't want to send troops to the grassland?

Zhu Youtang said: "If there are signs that the Tatars may rob Piantouguan and other places before February, how does Liu Ge feel?"

Liu Jian naturally wouldn't believe this kind of thing, he said: "Your Majesty, even if the Tatars have such a plan, after they find out that we have dispatched soldiers and horses on the frontier of the Ming Dynasty, they will choose another place to invade the border. The defense of the place should not be completed by lowering the defense of the surrounding border towns, please think more about it, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youtang frowned and asked Dai Yi beside him, "After Wang Weining arrived in the northwest, did he wantonly mobilize troops from Xuanfu and Datong?"

The emperor was very angry. He agreed that Wang Yue would go to the northwest on his own. How could Liu Jian find out because of the mobilization of troops and horses?
Dai Yi also looked puzzled, and said: "Your Majesty, the current situation is that, apart from the soldiers and horses taken away from the Beijing camp, Wang Junmen did not send troops from Juyong, Zijing, Xuanfu, Datong, etc. ...You didn't give him the authority to transfer troops from these places!"

(End of this chapter)