The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 207 Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals
On the eighth day of March, the Meridian Gate, the morning court.

From the beginning of the court meeting that day, the household department was reporting the drought situation in various places after the beginning of spring, and Li Mengyang, the right servant of the household department, was almost worn out.

"...Drought to exempt the 34 prefectures and counties affiliated to Jinan, Dongchang, Qingzhou and other prefectures in Shandong, as well as the five guards such as Jinan Dongchang. In the summer of the 11th year of Hongzhi, there was a difference in taxation...Drought to exempt the prefectures and counties of Shanxi Datong Prefecture, Xingdu Division The guards that belong to it, and the prefectures and counties of Henan Kaifeng and other prefectures, Xuanwu Nanyang and other guards, the food and grass grains in the 11th year of Hongzhi are poor..."

Drought situations have been reported from all over the country, and not every application for reduction or exemption can be approved.

And it is "different", which means that it depends on the situation in different places.

Li Mengyang was born in Liang Dao. In October of the 11th year of Hongzhi, as the governor of Nanjing Grain Store and the right deputy capital censor, he was changed to the right servant of the North Household Department; in April of the 13th year of Hongzhi, Xu Jin, the left servant of the Household Department, was transferred to the northwest Admiral Datong military affairs, and was ordered to resign in July because he was afraid of the fire with Chen Rui, Li Mengyang was changed to the left servant of the household department; in June of the 15th year of Hongzhi, he was selected as the minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, and he became an official in the first year of Zhengde.

This person is very proficient in food and road matters.

But no matter how professionally he spoke, the emperor didn't have the slightest thought, calling Dai Yi over from time to time to ask a few words, appearing to be careless.

Some ministers below had noticed that the emperor seemed to be concerned about something, and they didn't know what the emperor was asking. Anyway, Li Mengyang hadn't finished his report, so the ministers could only listen first.

……

……

Zhu Youtang is here.

Just when Li Mengyang was about to finish his presentation, Dai Yi hurried over and said: "Your Majesty, Xiao Jing has led Mr. Zhang into the palace."

"Where's Zhijie?"

"Start again and go east."

"well."

What Zhu Youtang was concerned about was naturally that Zhu Feng traveled from Piantouguan to the capital and went to Ningyuan, Liaodong non-stop.

Because of the hasty preparations for the battle, a general-level officer was transferred from the northwest to Liaodong to be the commander-in-chief. In order to ensure the smoothness of this battle, Zhu Youtang asked Zhu Feng to pass through the capital without entering the city, so there was no need to go to the city to follow him. Instead, the emperor asked Zhang Zhou to go out of the city to meet with Zhu Feng, to give a face-to-face instruction, and then to arrange all the things that could be taken care of by Zhu Feng.

The time before and after Zhu Feng and Zhang Zhou met may not exceed an hour, so Zhu Feng was sent to Ningyuan to be the commander-in-chief in charge of the entire battle.

In fact, Dai Yi and other eunuchs also felt that the emperor seemed to trust Zhang Zhou too much. After all, it was not Wang Weining who led the army this time, but Zhu Feng, the commander-in-chief, and Zhang Yanling, the deputy commander-in-chief. The only one who had the ability to stand alone in the past was another one. Deputy Chief Ping Jiang Bo Chen Rui, but Chen Rui's current reputation... I'm afraid no one will be convinced even in the army.

Fortunately, there were Zhang Yong, the supervising army who had previously cooperated with Wang Yue to win the Piantouguan victory, and Wang Qiong, the household doctor who was in charge of supervising grain.

It seems that this combination has a basically complete personnel structure from civil servants to military officials, but even Dai Yi and other cronies of the emperor think this combination is a bit weird, and it may be good if there is no big trouble.

Zhang Zhou, the nominal coach, is actually commanding from the rear remotely?Or did he only meet the coach Zhu Feng for less than an hour to set up the battle?

Dai Yi wanted to say, who would believe it?
"Let Bingkuan wait at Qianqing Palace, and I will go to see him after the court ends."

"Yes."

……

……

After Zhu Youtang learned that Zhang Zhou entered the palace, he was even less interested in listening to the minister's report on the drought.

"Let's stop here for today's court meeting." Zhu Youtang finally waited for Li Mengyang to finish speaking without making any decisions, so he wanted to end the court meeting.

Liu Jian said: "Your Majesty, the drought in the north is severe now, you should send an envoy to offer sacrifices to the heaven and the earth."

Zhu Youtang frowned slightly.

In the past, this kind of matter does not need to be discussed deliberately. As long as the minister brings it up, the emperor will definitely agree.

But the problem is... Now that Zhang Zhou is here, shouldn't he first discuss this matter with Zhang Zhou, who can "know the will of heaven"?

At this time, Shangshu Zhou Jing also came out and said: "Your Majesty, the rivers and canals in the capital are blocked, and all the canals and canals in the city are smelly and unpleasant. The people have many complaints. Please use Shuntian Mansion to cooperate with Jingying to dredge the canals."

Zhu Youtang said: "Yes. Order the Ministry of Industry to dredge the ditches in the capital together with the internal officials, Jin Yiwei and Xuncheng Yushi. The court council will come here first, and Liu Gelao and Ma Shangshu will stay here first. Its job!"

The emperor made no direct gestures other than agreeing to dredge the ditches in the city.

The ministers also didn't understand, since the emperor had something to discuss with Ma Wensheng and Liu Jian, why didn't he call them to the Qianqing Palace, instead he just wanted to say something at the Meridian Gate?
If it's not an important event, why do you have to leave the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the First Assistant to speak alone?

……

……

The ministers dispersed.

Ma Wensheng and Liu Jian walked in front of Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang asked Dai Yi to tell them that Zhu Feng, Zhang Yong and Zhang Yanling had passed by the capital and continued eastward to Ningyuan.

"I also asked Uncle Ping Jiang to lead the Thousand Divine Machine Battalion to set off yesterday. The transfer of personnel has been completed now, and I will say hello to the two Qing families as usual."

What Zhu Youtang meant, I didn't intend to discuss with you, but just to communicate with you.

Don't pretend to be sentimental to persuade me, I will not change this matter.

Liu Jian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, if Di Yi invades and the soldiers of the three armies shrink back, or if there is damage in battle, who should take the main responsibility?"

This question is still asking the emperor to make an oath.

Don't act blindly when deploying troops. If Duoyan Sanwei's troops really come, then a certain place in Liaodong will be plundered, or even Ningyuan will be plundered. There must be someone who will take the lead, right?
After Zhu Youtang heard this, his face became very unhappy.

what is this?
I dispatch troops and generals to win battles, so tell me first who will take the blame if you lose?

Wei Bin, the eunuch and eunuch who came out from the back, seemed to be reconciling the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, and said with a smile: "You two, who is responsible for this, and who is responsible for it, isn't it all corresponding? This still needs to be asked. ?"

It roughly means that if this battle is won, whoever wins first will be the one who loses first.

It sounds right.

But Zhu Youtang stared coldly at him unceremoniously. Wei Bin realized that something was wrong, so he quickly took two steps back and lowered his head.

The emperor was very angry.

Can't Wei Bin understand that Liu Jian means to let Zhang Zhou come out as the person in charge?
Are you still booing? !
What's wrong?

Did Zhang Zhou hurt your interests by letting Zhu Feng go to Liaodong?At this time, I started to learn to put on airs and make trouble here in the name of easing the conflict between the monarch and his ministers?
Zhu Youtang said: "In the Northwest War, although Bing Kuan did not make the first contribution, his contribution was not bad. In this battle, I dare to ask, if there is any deviation, where is his fault?"

"Your Majesty, this old minister does not mean that."

Liu Jian didn't expect that the emperor would make his words so clear.

He didn't directly say who was responsible, but directly exposed that he wanted Zhang Zhou to take the blame.

And Wei Bin didn't dare to breathe after listening to the emperor's words.

Based on their experience as eunuchs, they naturally knew that the emperor was really angry.

Anyone who wants to make trouble for Zhang Zhou is making trouble for me. Although your questions are only hypothetical, as long as your motives are not pure, then I will be angry as well.

Zhu Youtang felt a little too lazy to continue talking to Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng, and got up and said, "I have informed the two Qings about the progress of the Liaodong War, so there is no need to speak to outsiders. Step back."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Youtang was not polite, and took the supervisor of ceremonies with him to Qianqing Palace.

……

……

The emperor left.

As soon as Ma Wensheng and Liu Jiang left the Meridian Gate, Ma Wensheng reminded: "It seems that His Majesty is determined to make achievements in martial arts on the Nine Borders. With the current situation in Liaodong and Ningyuan, Elder Liu Ge doesn't have to worry. Nothing big will happen."

"Ah."

Liu Jian naturally knew that nothing major would happen.

I just want the emperor to treat Zhang Zhou as a normal courtier.

The first merit is the first pass, this is the most basic truth, why does His Majesty refuse to admit this?

Ma Wensheng sighed: "Your Majesty favors Zhang Bingkuan, and I hope there will be no troubles. Taoist priests governing the country are always inferior to Confucian ministers governing the country."

These words are actually reminding Liu Jian that no matter whether your cabinet thinks highly of Zhang Zhou or not, it is best to drag Zhang Zhou into the civilian camp.

This is not a matter of likes and dislikes, nor is it a matter of closeness or distance, it is necessary to do so.

If civil officials do not accept him, then he is a Taoist priest, and the idea of ​​governing the country will become more and more inconsistent with civil officials.

……

……

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

When Zhu Youtang met Zhang Zhou, his expression improved a lot, and he didn't blame Wei Bin for anything. From the emperor's point of view, the eunuchs in charge of ceremonies were always his "own people", and sometimes he made a mistake. In a word, it is not unforgivable.

Before getting to know Zhang Zhou, the emperor relied more on the opinions of the officials and supervisors in governing the country, and they were also the emperor's most loyal staff.

"Bingkuan, is Zhijie okay? I'm afraid he's working too hard. Earlier, he played a performance and said he wanted to be transferred back to Beijing. I also returned him. After the end of the Liaodong War, I asked him to come back to rest. , and let him do some work in the Beijing camp."

When Zhu Youtang mentioned Zhu Feng, it was like referring to his own nephew. He felt that Zhu Feng was useless and wanted Zhu Feng to do something.

Zhang Zhou nodded with a smile: "I told him that this battle won't last until the end of the month, and he'll be glad to hear that."

Is that right?

No.

Zhang Zhou wanted to say, that kid complained a lot now, and he thought that the whole world was trying to harm him.

It's good to say something to appease the kid's emotions.

That's it, how about being the coach?Thanks to Your Majesty, you trust him, even I dare not let him lead the army.

"How is Uncle Jianchang?" Zhu Youtang asked again.

Zhang Zhoudao: "I haven't seen it, but it is said that it is. They are complaining about the hard work along the way."

"Ugh!"

Zhu Youtang couldn't help sighing.

Even he, the emperor, could see that this was a combination of shrimp soldiers and crab generals. Even with Zhang Zhou behind the scenes, he felt that this group of guys went to Liaodong to make trouble. How could they mean to fight a serious war?
"Bingkuan, thank you for your hard work." Zhu Youtang said with self-blame on his face.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "It's up to man to make things happen. I'm not afraid of hard work. Besides, I didn't go to Liaodong, so it's not hard work."

By saying this, you are also reminding the emperor that you are biased in employing people. No matter how complete the plan is, you are afraid that the executor will pull your hips.

(End of this chapter)