The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 327
"Bingkuan has also made achievements in academic research, which is rare."

Zhu Youtang was naturally pleased to hear that Zhang Zhou promoted academic ideas and won the approval of many people.

What he fears most is that Zhang Zhou will not be tolerated by Confucianism.

Xiao Jingdao: "There are still controversies, and there are even people who maliciously slander secretly, but Dongchang has investigated, and no one secretly instigated, or it was just out of jealousy, or because of the lack of understanding of Mr. Zhang's achievements in Taoism. dissatisfied."

"Yeah." Zhu Youtang nodded, "I can also expect that. If there is agreement, there will naturally be opposition. The overall situation is still positive, isn't it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, many people strongly support Mr. Zhang's academic views when discussing Daoism." Xiao Jing said happily.

Zhu Youtang said: "It seems that I should say a few words for Bingkuan later. But let me study it first... This book looks like a real headache. I haven't concentrated on reading such a book for a long time. I seldom read memorials, maybe I am tired of court affairs."

……

……

Zhu Youtang is going to stand for Zhang Zhou himself.

From the emperor's point of view, this was nothing more than mutual benefit. Zhang Zhou had helped him, so he wanted to help Zhang Zhou.

However, Zhang Zhou, as the person involved, seems not to pay attention to the promotion of his academic ideas. At least he has not personally stood up for his school. Some people want to take the opportunity to meet him, and even express their support and admiration for him. Zhang Zhou will not go to see him either, because he knows that many people want to use his background in the court to become an official by supporting his academic ideas.

This group of people does not seem to be studying academics, but more like speculators.

On October [-]th, there were only three days left before Zhang Zhou welcomed Lin Yi. This morning, Zhang Zhou also participated in the court meeting for the first time after returning to the court.

Everyone was actually surprised.

It is obvious that Zhang Zhou has become a member of the "Shang Listening Office", and he often goes in and out of the palace to participate in separate discussions with the emperor. He is also the left servant of the Ministry of War, and he is the only one, but he never participates in court meetings. There were voices of criticism.

Zhang Zhou naturally became the focus of attention of others that day, and they were actually very curious about why Zhang Zhou came so unusually that day.

Fengtian Palace court meeting.

At the beginning, Zhu Youtang asked Xiao Jing, who was acting as the supervisor of ceremonies, to report a report from Ningxia: "...the local report, six days ago, was the seventh day of October. More than ten thousand soldiers attacked Ningxia West Road and other places, and martial law was imposed in various places in Ningxia for several days. Ningxia West Road guards and generals were promoted to Shisanbao with a total of [-] troops, and the Ming army and civilians were sent to retreat..."

The Tatars have violated the border again.

In fact, this kind of border report is not unusual at all in previous years, or even at the beginning of that year.

Regardless of whether Tatar's internal affairs are stable or not, there will still be disturbances every year. It's just how much disturbance there is. It's just that because of Da Ming's successive victories, even Huozhai, who was fond of troubles before, has withered. The ministers present That's why he felt that the sudden crime of the little Tatar prince Batu Monk seemed very rare.

Zhu Youtang waited for Xiao Jing to finish the matter, and said with emotion: "Thirty thousand soldiers and horses are quite a lot. Earlier it was said that the little Tatar prince sent troops to the northwest of Liaodong to deal with the three guards of Duoyan. It seems that he is in the rear. A lot of troops have been deployed, really to guard against my Da Ming's surprise attack from behind."

The ministers present pondered for a moment, where did the emperor make such a judgment?

Very far-fetched.

Xie Qian said: "Your Majesty, the latest battle report on the dispute between the little Tatar prince and Duoyan Sanwei was almost a month ago. If he sends troops westward after the war and harass our Great Ming Ningxia land ..."

Zhu Youtang asked: "Isn't it more convenient for him to enter the army from Liaodong?"

Xie Qian didn't know what to say for a moment.

It's right to think about it. If Batu Monk wanted to show his prestige deliberately, why didn't he make a move from Liaodong, where Ming's defense is relatively weak?Do you still have to go all the way to Ningxia West Road?

One is in the east of Daming, and the other is in the west of Daming. Geographically, they are two extremes.

Li Dongyang said: "Perhaps the little Tatar prince wants to show his power by this. He can divide his troops into several routes and cause disturbances to all parts of our frontier."

"Yes." Zhu Youtang nodded, "There is some truth to this. Bingkuan, what do you think?"

Now all the ministers present understood the purpose of the emperor calling Zhang Zhou here today. It turned out that there was a war in the northwest, and Zhang Zhou had to come out to participate in the planning.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Returning to Your Majesty, I believe that the Tatars invaded Ningxia West Road to clean up the hearts of the people in the grassland."

"How do you say it?" Zhu Youtang seemed to ask the question knowingly.

In fact, even those civil servants who had objections to Zhang Zhou seemed to understand what was going on.

Your Majesty, this question...was asked on purpose for us?

Zhang Zhou didn't have anything to hide, he said: "Tartar has been suffering from drought for the past year, and Huozhai was defeated twice by our Ming border soldiers, and he surrendered because of this. The little Tatar prince even showed his fangs and wanted to annex him. The rest of the patriarchs with different surnames set their prestige in the grassland alone, but lost their hearts because of this, but they have never won any direct battle against Daming in a year."

"And he took advantage of the fire to rob the three guards of Duoyan before, so that the tribes in the grassland were alienated from him. He had to send troops to harass our Ming Dynasty border to re-establish his reputation."

Liu Jian came out and said, "The veteran thinks what Zhang Shilang said is reasonable."

Liu Jian suddenly came out to support Zhang Zhou, which still made many people uncomfortable, but Liu Jian's words at most follow an obvious reason, which shows that Zhang Zhou's analysis is nothing special.

Probably anyone present could tell the same truth as Zhang Zhou.

Zhu Youtang said: "Then Da Ming must win this battle, otherwise the several great victories Da Ming has achieved in the past year will not be so meaningful. Will it be that I did not agree to send troops to help Duoyan Sanwei before?" related?"

The minister was also laughing secretly.

Is the emperor doing self-criticism?

The three guards of Duoyan asked for help. If Daming sent troops, no matter what the result of sending troops would be, at least it would make Daming's reputation on the grassland even higher and Batu Mengke's reputation lower.

Didn't Zhang Zhou agree to send troops in the end?
Of course, we also do not agree to send troops, but who let Zhang Zhoulai be the bad guy who came out to oppose sending troops?deserve it!
Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, I also think that the little Tatar prince may have the intention of pointing his sword at Turpan and other places in the Western Regions."

Xie Qian asked: "But Zhang Shilang, what did you calculate? If there is anything, you'd better say it bluntly. There is nothing to hide here. We are all ministers in the same palace. Even if you say something wrong, it will not hinder you." event."

Zhu Youtang also looked forward to Zhang Zhou.

Obviously, the topic Xie Qian brought up was what he was most interested in. Once Zhang Zhou said that it was God's will calculated, he would feel that something would happen.

But Zhang Zhou would not use his own analysis to judge God's will. Historically, the Tatars had not invaded Turpan and other Ming vassal states at this time. Naturally, this analysis was only on paper.

"No." Zhang Zhou said, "It's just a guess."

Having said that, Zhu Youtang also showed a little disappointment in his eyes.

But then the disappointment dissipated.

Doesn't matter whether Batu Mengke wants to invade Turpan?Send troops to help?Shouldn't the main force of Tatars on Ningxia West Road be repelled before assisting?

……

……

Up to this time, Ma Wensheng, Minister of the Ministry of War, hadn't said a word.

Just as Zhang Zhou represented the Ministry of War, Ma Wensheng knew how to control the situation and would not deliberately disrupt the harmony within the Ministry of War.

Zhu Youtang said: "The Tatars invaded Ningxia, and Qin Hong, who was in charge of the military affairs of the three sides, dispatched troops and generals to fight the Tatars head-on."

Hubu Shangshu Zhou Jing said: "Nowadays the Tatars are called raiders, but most of them are used to establish their prestige. Knowing the power of our new artillery and gunpowder in the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid they will avoid war."

"It's a good thing to avoid war." Xie Qian said with a smile, "If the Ming Dynasty sent troops, and the Tatars withdrew without a fight, wouldn't everyone be happy? I'm afraid that instead of withdrawing, the Tatars would want to use their cavalry advantage to fight against the Ming border army... …Your Majesty, as far as I know, most of the casting of cannons in the northwest is currently done in Pianguan and Datong, and the number of Chen Zhixin cannons in the three sides is very small, and it may be difficult to complete the encounters outside the fortress."

"Yep……"

Many ministers present are echoing.

Probably he wanted to say that Zhang Zhou focused all his defense on Xuanda, so that the defenses on the three sides were weak, and the Tatars took advantage of it.

Zhu Youtang said: "Northwest defense has its own system, and it won't change much because of the appearance of Mighty Sky Gunpowder and Magic Cannon, will it?"

Xie Qian didn't answer.

That is to say, without new guns and new gunpowder, we still need to defend, but it is even better, at least the Tatars will not dare to send troops from Jiliao or Xuanda to Ming Dynasty after defeating Duoyan Sanwei, and go directly to Ningxia West The way... is to choose areas where Daming's garrison of new firearms is weak, and it's not obvious that it is hiding from the strength of Daming's firearms?

"This is also the reason why I want to use Bingkuan to strengthen the frontier defense in the next few years. If there are magic guns everywhere, there will be no place for the Tatars to dare to commit crimes. Even the Ming Dynasty can attack in an all-round way and fight the Tatars head-on. "Zhu Youtang said.

This is just a matter of strategy. From the "pragmatic" point of view of the current ministers of the DPRK and China, it seems too general.

Li Dongyang came out and said, "Your Majesty, if the artillery and cavalry gathered from all over the three sides are not enough to fight the Tatars, should we dispatch soldiers and horses from Datong and other places to fight together?"

Zhu Youtang said: "No need. Bingkuan, what's your opinion?"

Zhu Youtang has a lot of rebellious feelings towards traditional civil servants. He feels that this group of people have bad ideas, and it is also because their opinions are mostly contrary to Zhang Zhou's opinions. So when he directly denied it first, he remembered it and asked Zhang Zhou. Zhou is the best result, why make the decision by yourself?
Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, I believe that to fight the Tatars, it is not necessarily necessary to send troops from Ningxia, but to send troops from Datong and other places, and the result is the same."

"what?"

The ministers present were talking in an instant.

But Zhu Youtang said as if he had found his way: "You mean, you want to surround Wei and save Zhao?"

"Your Majesty." Li Dongyang quickly interrupted the chorus between Zhu Youtang and Zhang Zhou, and asked sharply, "Even if the Tatars have the royal court of the Khan tribe on the grassland, most of them can migrate, and they are not used as strongholds or cities. The so-called tactic of besieging Wei and saving Zhao is likely to make our Daming frontier soldiers go deep into the grasslands and put them in danger."

Zhu Youtang said unhappily: "Li Qing's family, can't we wait for Bingkuan to finish?"

Li Dongyang was anxious.

Your Majesty, it seems that you interrupted Zhang Zhou first, saying that this was to encircle Wei and save Zhao, and I just wanted to kill some of your thoughts.

Shouldn't it be the best way to cure a headache?Your Majesty, have you learned from Zhang Bingkuan?
Obviously it was the battle on Ningxia West Road. If you insist on following his guidance and saying that you want to send troops from other places, the result is likely to be a chicken-and-egg fight. The prince's goal of raising his prestige was achieved, but the dispatch of troops to the grassland by the Ming Dynasty was only at the theoretical level.

Zhang Zhou looked around at the people present, and found that no one was looking at him directly, but they were obviously looking at him with all their aura.

He is like a matador, facing so many bulls who need to vent their anger at once.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, my minister's opinion is to send troops from Liaodong, take the opportunity to fight Duoyan Sanwei, and completely incorporate them. And use his tribal strength to take back the pasture where Duoyan Sanwei is located."

"As for the threats on Ningxia West Road and other places, Qin Zongzhi dispatched troops and horses inside the pass, and ordered Huozhai to send troops from his headquarters to attack outside the pass, and promised to return the people of his headquarters according to the outcome of the war after he wins... It’s a combination of both.”

……

……

Zhang Zhou's voice fell.

It was very quiet in the palace.

What surprised the ministers most was that Zhang Zhou wanted to annex the three guards of Duoyan by force. It stands to reason that the three guards of Duoyan sent troops to Daming for help, but were later defeated by Batu Mengke. When it came time to show benevolence and righteousness to all the tribes in the grassland, Zhang Zhou didn't seem to have any benevolence and righteousness to talk about.

It is to take advantage of your illness to kill you.

But this seems to be the best choice for Daming... Of course, it is based on Confucian benevolence and righteousness.

From the perspective of traditional Confucianism, how can we take advantage of the fire at this time?You took advantage of the fire to rob, how can you use benevolence and righteousness to incorporate the rest of the tribe?
Zhu Youtang originally wanted to hear the objections of the ministers present, but found...no one objected.

Probably still the same sentence.

Let Zhang Zhou be the villain.

It seems that the ministers present also felt that it would be a good thing if they could take the opportunity to wipe out the three guards of Duoyan at once.

The result is that the annexation is very good. Even if there is no annexation and the army is defeated, shouldn't it be the responsibility of Zhang Zhou who advocated sending troops?

Either way, our ministers are not at a loss.

We don't want to be good or bad.

Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, I still advocate the inclusion of all the Tatar tribes in the grassland, and we should use benevolence. You can neither betray your faith nor add insult to injury. If you advocate this, will it be... umm."

I didn't finish my sentence, but I was probably talking, is your idea a little bit damaged?And it's not conducive to uniting the anti-Tartar little prince's team on the grassland.

If you can't win people's hearts, how can you bring the team together?

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, the benevolence and righteousness of the Ming Dynasty have always been towards the subjects of the dynasty and those who are loyal to the subjects of the country. The grassland tribes, who drink blood like hair, never take their ministers' morality to heart, and even use the letter of credence in memorials." Those who use their reckless words to play, do not think about the way of kingship, so how can they be called the people of Ming Dynasty, and how can they be worthy of the benevolence and righteousness of His Majesty and Ming Dynasty?"

Xie Qian said with a smile: "Zhang Shilang, you seem to have forgotten that Huozhai's Mengguoljin Department was also incorporated by Daming in the same way. You advocate injustice to Duoyan Sanwei, are you afraid of Huozhai's rebellion?"

Zhang Zhou replied with a smile: "Xie Ge is always wrong. Huozhai's surrender has always been just for profit and nothing else is involved. For the grassland tribes, they only worship the strong. If Daming is benevolent and righteous to Duoyan Sanwei, he or He will rebel, but if Daming sends troops to annex the three guards of Duoyan, he can succeed in one fell swoop, and even enter the hinterland of the grassland, he will definitely not rebel. Does he want to kill himself?"

Xie Qian said: "You can say whatever you want, after all, you can't have both, and you can't verify them all."

However, Zhu Youtang seemed to no longer want to listen to any other opinions. He said: "I also think that we should not only take precautions in Ningxia and other places, but also take action. The governor of Liaodong, Lu Wan, has already arrived. Yeah?"

Xiao Jing who was next to him said: "Return to Your Majesty, more than ten days ago, I received the report of his arrival in Liaodong, and rectified the troops and horses to fight at any time."

"Let him recruit artillery, etc., and send troops from Shenyang Zhongwei and other places... The specific strategy for sending troops will be discussed at the listening office today."

This is the first time that Zhu Youtang has brought the military decision-making power of the "Shang Ting Department" to the court.

The ministers present instantly felt that they had fallen out of favor.

In the obvious court meeting, the emperor didn't even make a decision, so he actually said that he had to rely on the "superior hearing department" to decide the details of sending troops by himself?

Li Dongyang asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, what position should the Ministry of War take?"

Zhu Youtang said: "As the Minister of the Ministry of War, Bing Kuan is already on duty at the Ministry of War. For this matter... let Bing Kuan enter the role in the name of the Yanwu Hall, and the Minister of the Ministry of War will be temporarily replaced by the Minister of the Ministry of War. This is an extraordinary period. To do extraordinary things... for the rest of the people who are worth the money, the governor's mansion and the cabinet will each choose one person... If there is no major objection, then according to the previous decision, the British Duke and Xie Qing's family will be the money."

Xie Qian said: "Returning to Your Majesty, I am ashamed and dare not be ashamed."

He was thinking, it's okay to let me make jokes and disrupt the situation, let me make suggestions, even check and balance Zhang Zhou, or let the awesome people come, of course let Liu Jian go.

In this way, both the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet and the Minister of the Ministry of War have become members of the Upper Listening Office, which at most strengthens and supplements the imperial court system during wartime, and does not form a confrontation with the imperial court system.

Of course Zhu Youtang knew that he couldn't do this, he said: "If you don't go, then Li Qing's family will go. As for the candidates for the supervising office, let me say it again, there must be capable people living here, and there must be no chaos." The original order of duties in the court. All strategic decisions cannot be made by you alone, but by me alone."

The general meaning is similar to that of court affairs.

It seems that the ministers discussed and decided, but the power to make the final decision is still with the emperor. The emperor said how to implement it.

If the emperor decides... then Zhang Zhou still has the final say.

(End of this chapter)