The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 223 Wheel Battle

The emperor endorsed Zhang Zhou, and Zhang Zhou seemed to be more imposing.

Zhang Zhou looked at Xie Qian with a smile and said, "Mr. Xie Ge, do you have any questions? Say it together, and I will tell you everything."

Don't pick on others, just hit Xie Qian. Zhang Zhou's move seems to be telling Xie Qian, I know you are the most eloquent one in the Ming Dynasty, don't ask others to come out to argue with me today, so as not to leave anything for His Majesty Bad impression, then we two solo, don't you dare to take it?

Zhang Zhou's move was also considered.

If you really want to fight against the Confucians, all of them will come out to question him. It will be very troublesome just to deal with everyone's character and viewpoint.

It's better to face the strongest one directly.

Doing this avoids having a bad time with a group of people. Anyway, Xie Qian usually likes to talk nonsense with others. If you are not as good as others in court debate, thank you for your old man's character. Wouldn't it be too much to hold grudges against a young man like me?
Just pick a good-tempered Xie Qian to line up.

Xie Qian was naturally happy to have a good discussion with Zhang Zhou, he said: "Jinshi Zhang, since you also admit that the mighty gunpowder was made by you, it is impossible that the damage to the city fortress has nothing to do with you, right? ? Even if this matter is not from your instigation, this matter should have a great relationship with you."

"Correct!"

The civil servants seemed to have suddenly found the key to the issue from Xie Qian's guidance.

Zhang Bingkuan, who invented the new gunpowder, is not responsible for blowing up the city wall of Piantouguan, who will?Without your gunpowder, even if Wang Weining had the heart, he would not have the ability.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Old Xie Ge, you also know that alchemists like to make alchemy, and they also like to study gunpowder."

"Ah."

Xie Qian nodded.

You kid admits that you are an alchemist, and you also admit that you like to engage in those strange and obscene things?Then you just admit defeat and are ready to plead guilty and accept punishment?
Zhang Zhoudao: "It is said that the invention of gunpowder in China was developed by alchemists who controlled the fire around the Tang Dynasty. If there are Tatars who use gunpowder to capture the fortress of our Ming Dynasty today, should we still go there?" Dig the grave of the inventor, and then crush him to ashes as a punishment?"

"what?!"

Not to mention the civil servants present, even Wu Xun was in an uproar.

Zhang Zhou's method of discussion can be said to be "unconventional". In court debates, there is really no one who dares to speak and draw analogies like Zhang Zhou.

"you!"

Xie Qian was speechless for a moment.

Even Xie Qian felt that this kid didn't have any worries when he spoke?

Zhang Zhou continued to talk eloquently: "From now on, no matter who made or invented something, as for what is done with it, the person who uses it should bear the credit or the fault... …Old Xie Ge, please don’t interrupt me, I understand what I mean, I don’t want to steal the credit for Piantouguan, what belongs to Wang Weining belongs to him, I never want to take credit.”

Xie Qian almost wanted to say.

The emperor gave you the credit for inventing the mighty sky gunpowder, but you actually said that it has nothing to do with you?

Zhang Zhou just blocked his mouth.

I don't want that credit.

I invented nitroglycerin to help you defeat the enemy, just because Wang Weining blew up the city, are you still planning to settle accounts after the fall?It is you civil servants who say shameless, and since you insist on entangled in what kind of credit the inventor should take in it, then I will directly say that I neither want to take responsibility nor care about that credit.

Xie Qian didn't mention how annoyed he was.

With his eloquent teeth, it was difficult to find an opponent in the court to argue with others.

A strong one came today, which made him speechless for a while. With the anger in his heart and his competitive spirit, Xie Qiandeng was like a fighting cock, competing with Zhang Zhou.

Xie Qian said aggressively: "I won't argue with you about the off-point matters. I won that match. Daming's prestige was revealed. No one will deny that you have made predictions in advance. But what happened in Liaodong? Use Zhu Feng, Zhang Yanling, and Chen Rui to lead the army? Instead of taking the imperial censor as the leader, Wu Xun leads the army and the commander-in-chief is temporarily recruited. If you don’t relegate local generals, how can you win with other soldiers?”

From what Zhang Zhou heard, he knew that the civil servants now assigned the responsibility for the appointment of Zhu Feng, Zhang Yanling, and Chen Rui to him.

This is to blame the emperor for making his own claims.

It's not good to use anyone, but Zhu Zhijie must be used... Is he a master who fights tough battles?As for Zhang Yanling, it was even more nonsense.

Only Chen Rui, who has experience as a military leader, has lost his reputation in the army due to his recent bad reputation.

Your Majesty, I know that you have drifted away recently, but can we discuss something?
Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Xie Ge's old saying is reasonable, why don't we replace the three of them now, and then replace them with Du Yushi to lead the army and prepare for the battle?"

"You!" Xie Qian was angry this time.

Zhu Youtang came forward to make peace and said: "Zhang Qing's family, don't be rude to Mr. Xie Ge, if you have something to say, in fact..."

Zhu Youtang saw that it was difficult to explain this matter. It was indeed his own decision to use Zhu Feng, Zhang Yanling and Chen Rui. He felt that it was necessary to explain that this matter had nothing to do with Zhang Zhou. It just provided an idea for the use of troops in Liaodong, and he, the emperor, insisted on using these three people.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, I believe that the use of troops in Liaodong should be judged according to the time and situation. If these three people are capable, they should be treated equally. Success or failure should be judged by the results, and their abilities should not be denied in advance."

The voice fell, and the scene was very quiet.

The civil servants seemed to be waiting for Xie Qian to continue to attack.

Wu Xun felt very aggrieved. It was like this in the past. It was up to you civil servants to decide whether to use someone. It is rare that the emperor made an exception this time. Even we looked down on Zhu Feng, Zhang Yanling and Chen Rui. From the perspective of improving the emperor's way of employing people, we are very supportive of adopting other people's opinions instead of listening to your civil officials.

Xie Qian also regained some momentum at this time, and asked: "You mean, you want to guarantee the results of the three of them, and the merits and demerits of the three of them in Liaodong are closely related to you?"

"enough!"

Zhu Youtang couldn't listen anymore, so he directly interrupted Xie Qian's words, "Mr. Xie Ge, I have already told you very clearly about the matter of employing people. It is my own decision on who to hire and who not to use. Uncle An Bian As the commander-in-chief, he can also carry out Zhang Qing's strategy, if you insist on using people to question this matter, you should ask me directly!"

Xie Qian was pushed back immediately.

In fact, there are some things that need not be mentioned by the emperor, but those ministers with far-sightedness should also analyze it. The use of Zhu Feng, Zhang Yanling and Chen Rui should not come from Zhang Zhou's proposal.

Zhu Feng is young and energetic and is not suitable to be a coach at all, not to mention Zhang Yanling, who is a potential opponent of the emperor's close ministers with Zhang Zhou. As for Chen Rui, Zhang Zhou once helped Wang Yue obtain meritorious service in the Northwest, so it is natural for Chen Rui to hate Wang Yue He hated Zhang Zhou, so why did Zhang Zhou recommend a Chen Rui who had a prejudice against him?

But Zhang Zhou's willingness to take the responsibility for the emperor made those civil officials realize that Zhang Zhou was not as irresponsible as they thought.

If the emperor hadn't come out to explain the situation, Zhang Zhou might have directly stated on the spot that the merits and demerits of these three people shared the honor and disgrace with Zhang Zhou, and they could advance and retreat together.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Your Majesty, can I still escape from the result of the First Battle of Liaodong?"

"you……"

Zhu Youtang was silent for a while.

Those civil servants suddenly became excited.

Yes.

If it were Zhang Zhou who set foot in the court today, if Liaodong set up an ambush in Ningyuan and was defeated, Zhang Zhou can still say that this matter has nothing to do with him, he just provided a strategy, and the defeat was caused by Zhu Feng and others' improper use of troops ...

But now it is difficult for Zhang Zhou to get rid of the relationship.

Zhang Zhou didn't want to get on the same boat with Zhu Feng and the three of them, and the civil servants would force Zhang Zhou to be tied to this boat.

Zhang Zhou said calmly, "Mr. Xie Ge, I should have hoped that Di Yi would appear in the place I predicted, that is, outside Ningyuan City, and then use An Bianbo and others to lead the army to defeat the enemy, in order to stabilize Liaodong." Calm down. Should I be begging them not to come now?"

Xie Qian turned his head to one side: "What you think has nothing to do with the old man."

Zhang Zhoudao: "Then I have to ask Mr. Xie Ge, if I can calculate that Di Yi may indeed appear in a certain place at a certain time in the future, and cause harassment to our border people, and even plunder our border people's people and animals, then Mr. Xie Ge may wish to give me an opinion, should I report this matter, or ignore it?"

The civil servants present were all firm in their opinions and wanted to fight Zhang Zhou to the end.

But after hearing Zhang Zhou's words, private discussions started again.

They seem to understand why Zhang Zhou is so imposing today, and even why the emperor trusts Zhang Zhou so much.

Because what Zhang Zhou did was just what a courtier should do, which is to tell the emperor what he knows, and the rest of the arrangements will be completed by the emperor, which has nothing to do with Zhang Zhou, and Zhang Zhou did not let the frontier army kill him. Go into the grassland and fight the Tatars to the end.

If you want to pick Zhang Zhou's fault, where is the fault?
Zhang Zhoudao: "If you think I'm talking about alchemists, don't forget that there was a Qin Tianjian in the Ming Dynasty, and the responsibility of the Qin Tianjian is based on my summary. Disasters will be reported to His Majesty in time."

"And I'm just using the mentality of an ordinary subject to investigate myself and listen to Datian to deal with it. As for whether it can be fulfilled... So far, it seems that there is no deviation, which means that my report is at least better than Qin's. Tianjian is more accurate."

Xie Qian glanced at Zhang Zhou coldly, not knowing what to say.

In the eyes of later generations, it is outrageous to talk about ghosts and gods, and it is even a slant.

But these days, not only ordinary people believe in this, but even the emperor and ministers actually believe it. The imperial court has a special institution to study the matter of celestial phenomena. Why do you say Zhang Zhou's words are groundless words of alchemists?

What Zhang Zhou meant was that the Qin Tianjian predicted nine out of ten times that it was inaccurate, and it still plays out every time it is guessed, and I hit it ten to ten, because my prediction is too accurate and you civil servants feel the pressure, so I won’t let you Did you say so?
Is there any reason?

……

……

The scene looked awkward.

The civil servants were humiliated by Zhang Zhou, mainly because Zhang Zhou, unlike Li Guang, relied on alchemy and nonsense to get to the top, while Zhang Zhou relied on real skills.

And their suppression of Zhang Zhou was not due to Zhang Zhou's misconduct. Many people were out of jealousy. To put it bluntly, Zhang Zhou broke the rules of the court, but the root cause was not because Zhang Zhou destroyed civil servants. The only reliable position in the emperor's heart?

Zhang Zhoudao: "The land of Ningyuan is narrow and special. Even if it is said that the next step may be the focus of Di Yi's invasion of the country, it is actually nothing. They will come anyway, because they set up an ambush there to fight. It is still quite difficult. Unless heavy troops are hoarded, but this will make the rest of the deployed troops less prepared."

Xie Qian no longer wanted to continue arguing with Zhang Zhou, so he withdrew to his class.

All the civil servants were surprised.

The debate has not yet come to fruition. Didn’t you, Xie Qian, fight well just now?When there is still a vague chance of gaining the upper hand, why did you retreat at this time?
Only Xie Qian knew that the moral high ground had been firmly controlled by Zhang Zhou, so it didn't make much sense for him to say anything.

What Zhang Zhou said, whether something should be played or ignored, made Xie Qian feel that Zhang Zhou was actually right in essence, and the wrong thing might be that Zhang Zhou was too awesome, and it was too difficult for civil servants to come down. Anyway, this kid has already passed the exam The number one scholar, you have joined us. With the emperor's extreme trust in him, there will be no good results in arguing with him.

Unless Zhang Zhou's prophecy was wrong during the battle of Liaodong, or something happened in the future, making Zhang Zhou lose the trust of the emperor...

Xie Qian is also very good at judging the situation. When he sees that the wind direction is not right, he is not at all ambiguous when it is time to talk.

Seeing that Xie Qian withdrew first, Li Dongyang knew he had to do it himself.

Previously, Xie Qian belonged to the "emotional school", and now it is his turn, the "rational school", to appear.

To change the way of thinking, it's time to discuss the gains and losses with you.

In the past, it was bombing indiscriminately, but now it is a place of competition for size.

Li Dongyang said: "Zhang Jinshi, since you mentioned Ning Yuan, should you explain the strategy of this battle and how to defeat the enemy? If your prediction is accurate, then Di Yi's purpose is to rob To loot, the frontier people should be transferred to the fortress, and when the enemy comes to attack, gather superior forces, why is it only in Ningyuan that there are soldiers and horses mobilized?"

Now let's talk about whether your tactics are right or not.

Before discussing.

At least figure out your tactical intentions first, and then we can find faults to attack you, and even let the emperor know the gains and losses, and adjust Ningyuan's tactics according to the opinions of our civil servants.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Mr. Li Ge believes that Duoyan's three guards will really attack Ningyuan?"

These words are to choke Li Dongyang.

Don't you civil servants disbelieve my prophecies?Since you don't believe me, then you still care what tactics I use in Ningyuan?
In fact, you just want to say that I am only responsible for telling the emperor where there may be wars, and the specific arrangement of tactics is up to you civil servants. Is that what you mean?It's a pity, I didn't object to your participation, but who told His Majesty to listen to me now and not to believe yours?
Whoever proposes who arranges, you don't believe it, what the hell are you arranging for?
Li Dongyang said: "You just need to tell the tactics."

Zhang Zhoudao: "Until the outcome of the battle is over, I'm sorry to say."

Rao even Li Dongyang knew that Zhang Zhou might have a weird temper, but he didn't expect that Zhang Zhou would directly make him, an old man, unable to step down in front of the emperor and ministers of civil and military affairs.

He was even thinking, is it really necessary to recruit this kid into the civil servant camp?He is determined to fight against us in terms of feelings.

That being the case, why did he still want to be the number one scholar in Jinshi?
After hearing Zhang Zhou's words, the civil servants were very hostile to Zhang Zhou.

But Wu Xun's situation is just the opposite.

They have a feeling of "finally making it out". It's rare. Fifty years after the Ming Civil Fortress Change, there is finally someone who can challenge the civil servants in the court and win the trust of the emperor. It seems that our martial arts are no longer there. In the past 50 years, I have to live on the breath of Wenchen!

Tu Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, asked: "Why can't you tell me? Is there something you should not tell others?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "This is Tu Butang, right? What do you mean by the so-called secret? If it is a tactic that should not be told to outsiders to prevent Di Yi from knowing it, then it is indeed a secret, but you want to say this It is to endanger Daming, I think you are exaggerating."

Seeing Tu Yu walking out, Zhu Youtang couldn't help frowning.

What are you doing here, Tu Yu?
Don't you, Tu Yu, know that in the eyes of Liu Jian and Li Dongyang and other factions, you are also half an outlier?
Otherwise, why did the censor take you as a target after what happened to Li Guang and impeach you again and again?At that time, you were also favored by Zhang Zhou. It was Zhang Zhou who reminded me not to pursue the personal affairs in Li Guang's accounting book, but now you are "repaying your kindness with revenge"?
The Tongzheng envoy Yuan Shouzhi said: "Why can't you say it? Only when you say it can you tell right from wrong. Could it be that you alone are going to stand above the court?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "If it was two months ago, if I mentioned the Mighty Sky Gunpowder in the court and told you that this thing has such power, would you believe it?"

"you……"

Yuan Shouzhi also misfired.

He has never seen what the mighty sky gunpowder is, but now he only hears that it is so evil that even the city walls can be blown down directly. This thing is beyond the comprehension of traditional Confucian officials.

Xie Qian laughed again: "Then you mean that there is something stronger than the mighty sky gunpowder you can take out?"

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded unceremoniously.

"Hehe." Xie Qian said with a smile, "Then there is such a good thing, why didn't you take it out during the battle at Pianguan?"

Zhang Zhou also said helplessly: "I only hate that I was just a recruiter at the time. After I arrived in the capital, I started to implement some things. After His Majesty sent people to cooperate, I started to make progress."

"The preparations for the new killer weapon I mentioned were only started at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, it was not completed before the first battle of Pianguan, so I missed it. But it happened to be made at this time, and it was planned to be used in the first battle of Liaodong. This is also the reason why I don’t want to tell you all, because the tactics used are too bizarre, even if I tell you, you may not understand and support it.”

Xu Guan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, came out and said, "Zhang, do you know what you are talking about?"

The civil servants with the idea of ​​the mean really couldn't stand it.

Are you bragging a little too much, kid?
Zhang Zhou shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm afraid I have to ask Mr. Xiao and Mr. Ying of the East Factory. They have gone to the experiment with me. I wonder if you can come out and say something?"

The civil servant stared wide-eyed.

Not bragging alone, but also helping to brag together?
Zhang Mao came out and said with a smile: "Speaking of which, I am really lucky, and it was an eye-opener at the time. Maybe it is true as Zhang Jinshi said, this thing is currently used in Liaodong. The structure of the war. This old man admires Zhang Jinshi extremely."

(End of this chapter)