The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 423 The unbearable burden of the court
Fengtian Hall, court meeting.

Before Wen Chen and Wu Xun arrived, they had vaguely heard some rumors that the siege of Ningxia seemed to be lifted, and the root cause of everything lay in the sudden withdrawal of the Tatars.

Similar to Yang Yiqing's assumptions about the current situation, the minister did not think that Wang Shouren's [-] soldiers had made any great achievements on the grassland, but it was likely that the Tatars had finished their robbery and it was time to stop and go back to the mountains. If there is a certain relationship with Wang Shouren, it must be that the Tatars pulled out the thorn in Wang Shouren's flesh when they returned to the army.

In other words.

The situation for Wang Shouren and his [-] soldiers and horses is not optimistic.

The meeting begins.

When Zhu Youtang came up, he asked Li Rong to come forward and read out several reports about various places in the northwest, mentioning the news of the withdrawal of the Tatars, and also read out the news about the northward relocation of Duoyan Sanwei in Jizhou Town in the east.

I just told the minister clearly that I think it was Wang Shouren's bravery and skill in fighting that forced the Tatars to retreat, and even the rest of Duoyan Sanwei did not dare to approach the border of Daming anymore.

Because Li Rong is old and senior, he speaks very slowly, but his words are sonorous and powerful, and he expresses clearly what Zhu Youtang wants to express in a slightly ups and downs tone... In general, the emperor He can make a high-pitched voice when he wants to highlight and "knock on the blackboard", while those unimportant reports can be ignored.

The old guy has qualifications. After Li Rong finished speaking, even if the emperor didn't say anything, all the ministers knew what the emperor meant.

Finally, Li Rong concluded: "This morning, His Majesty has issued an order to Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui, Ningxia and Gansu to send available soldiers, accompanied by sky gunpowder and long-range cannons, to attack the grassland, so as to shake the grassland. The prestige of the kingdom."

After Li Rong finished speaking, he turned around and saluted Zhu Youtang respectfully, before returning.

This is different from Xiao Jing and others coming out to speak, they all respectfully retreat after finishing speaking, and Li Rong seems to care more about expressing his respect and humility to the emperor, although it seems that this performance is a bit deliberate, while Zhu Youtang doesn't seem to be the kind of person who sticks to etiquette, and Li Rong's actions in the past would be redundant.

But now that the relationship between the emperor and his courtiers is a bit tense, his actions showed his intimacy with the emperor, and his estrangement with Xiao Jing and others.

"Gentlemen, do you have any opinions?"

Zhu Youtang first waited and found that no minister came out to object, but he was not used to it, so he took the initiative to ask.

Because in Zhu Youtang's view, if I had any intention of dispatching troops and generals in the past, you would definitely jump out and oppose it. Either use the pretense of wasting people and money, or use "If there is no difficulty, create difficulty. In short, you must not let your majesty do anything wrong." "As a breakthrough, we can always find reasons to refute the Northwest's initiative to use troops to attack.

extraordinary.

After the emperor asked the question, the minister still did not come out to object.

It's not that they don't want to object. According to Wu Xun, the mainstream civil servant in the DPRK, it's enough for the Northwest to stay on the defensive, and to take the initiative to attack is to cause trouble for themselves.

The reason why they didn't come out to object this time is because they felt... Objecting didn't make much sense.

Haven't you decided, Your Majesty?
Your decision was based on two or three days after the Tatars withdrew their troops, summed up in various places, and it took another four or five days to send it to the capital quickly, and it took another four or five days for your will to spread to all parts of the northwest, possibly four or four days away. It can't be delivered in five days... Then it will take a few more days to prepare troops and horses everywhere, and then go out...

Ten days.

A conservative estimate is already.

Just ask Your Majesty, who can shake the Tatars if they send troops to the grassland ten days after they withdraw their troops?Who can they chase after?
This so-called dispatch of troops seems to be superfluous.

Zhu Youtang said: "It seems that your family has no objection, so my will will not change. Before this, as far as I know, only Wang Qiong, who is at the top of the gate, has sent troops to station in advance according to my will. In the land of Donghetao, there is also the tribe leader Huozhai who returned from the Mongolian Goljin tribe, and asked for instructions to use soldiers and horses to fight against the little Tatar prince."

The minister was a little confused when he heard that.

What?
We can understand that Wang Qiong sent troops, but Huozhai is still looking for a sense of presence at this time?It's fine that he didn't watch the fire from the other side, but he actually took the initiative to play, saying that he would stand with Daming?
What is the purpose of the fire sieve?

Zhou Jing, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, came out and said, "Your Majesty, the words of Chief Di Yi cannot be trusted."

Zhu Youtang said: "Of course I know that Huozhai is not trustworthy, but since he has already played, in order to express my position, I still want to fulfill his "loyalty" heart. The current plan is to ensure that Xinjian Bo surprises the Tatar rear The men and horses can be successfully withdrawn to the pass, what is the good strategy of the Qing family for this?"

Zhou Jing looked at Ma Wensheng's side, then retreated by himself.

It probably means, Ma Shangshu, it's time for you to come out and offer advice.

Ma Wensheng also knew that this matter had to be done by himself, because the cabinet obviously wanted to pretend to be dumb today. He knew the character of the three old foxes in the cabinet very well. It is enough for the heads of the six ministries to come out and express their views.

Ma Wensheng raised the wat board, his tone was not as steady as before, but he seemed a little anxious and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister believes that after the Xinjian Bosuo enters the hinterland of Tatar, it may be the easiest to fall into a tight siege. This is the current plan. The purpose is to find the location of their soldiers and horses, and at the same time provide emergency assistance, maybe they can send people to hold festivals to announce the decree to the Tatars.”

rush to the rescue?

Where are you going?

We don't even know where Wang Shouren's subordinates are. Your Majesty, you actually ask us what is the best way to help him?It's a bit of a waste of money.

As for the so-called sending people to hold festivals, it means sending people to mediate with the Tatars. Our troops from all walks of life attack the grasslands. If you want Da Ming not to attack, you should obediently make room so that Wang Shouren can lead his six thousand soldiers Horses...or don't know how many people are left now, in short, let them return to Daming territory.

Zhu Youtang said coldly: "Could it be that the Ministry of War thinks that Uncle Xinjian won't be able to come back, so he has to beg Hulu to bring him back with the remnants?"

"The old minister has no such intention." Ma Wensheng denied it categorically.

What he meant was that the old minister clearly said just now that Wang Shouren would easily fall into a tight siege if he walked like this. I didn't say that he would definitely be in a tight siege. Even if he is still dealing with the Tatars, should he first find out where his soldiers and horses are? ?Make it convenient for Your Majesty, you old man, to use your talents of "after the fact"?

Zhu Youtang's complexion was not good.

The withdrawal of the Tatar troops was originally a good thing to "celebrate" for him as an emperor. Even turned into a long sword inserted into the belly of a Tatar.

But the minister always doesn't give him face.

It seems that Wang Shouren is about to burp, and his "fantasy" seems to be shattered soon.

When you are an emperor, your ministers will create troubles for you every day, and find troubles for you if you have nothing to do. The name is to keep your heartstrings tense all the time, so that you can focus on state affairs...

What is born of sorrow and dies of well-being.

You are not tired, my heart is tired.

Thinking about it this way, Bingkuan is better, he never tries to create a sense of crisis for me, nor does he create trouble, but always helps me solve troubles.

……

……

Zhu Youtang thought so, and the scene was so stiff.

In the end, it was necessary for Zhu Youtang to take the initiative to break the deadlock. He asked Xiao Jing beside him, "Bingkuan recently, didn't he give me a performance?" Need insight on where to send troops?"

This appears to be a personal matter.

But Zhu Youtang spoke very loudly, as if he deliberately let the ministers present hear him.

How about letting you know the needs in my heart?

What I say is what I care about in my heart, and it is often what Bingkuan can think of, and even report to me.

Xiao Jingdao: "Duke Lai has not requested any memorial in recent days."

Zhang Zhou was in Nanjing, so he didn't know what he was thinking. Anyway, Zhang Zhou almost didn't mention a word about the war in the north, as if the war had nothing to do with him.

Not to mention Xiao Jing, together with Wu Xun, a civil servant in the court, and Zhu Youtang, it seems that they don't quite understand this point.

Of course, there will also be a villain's heart, thinking that Zhang Zhou wants to show that this battle has nothing to do with him, and wants to disregard the relationship with this battle afterwards, or even evade responsibility.

But those who are interested also know that Zhang Zhou can't choose.

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang seemed very excited when he heard Xiao Jing's words, but in fact his expression was more of a performance, "Bingkuan didn't mention it, which means that he is very optimistic about the result of this battle, and it is estimated that it will happen in the next two days." Good news came."

When the minister heard it, could he still understand it like this?
Sure enough, Your Majesty, your trust in Zhang Bingkuan is extraordinary, so much so that in your heart, Zhang Bingkuan is really omnipotent. This kind of blind trust... is simply going to harm the country and the people.

"That's it." Zhu Youtang added, "In the past two days, one person from the Pavilion Department, the Shangting Office, the Sixth Department, and the Governor's Mansion will each be sent to stay in the Wenhua Hall, waiting for dispatch at any time."

Liu Jian finally came out, but questioned him, he said: "Your Majesty, I don't know why?"

Zhu Youtang said: "We have to deal with the changing situation at any time. If we hear the news, we have to invite people back to discuss it. I'm afraid it will be too late. When the grassland battle is imminent, we must dispatch it at any time when there is a change."

Liu Jian wanted to say that if something happened on the grassland, His Majesty in the capital had to discuss the countermeasures with princes and ministers, communicate it before implementing it, and the day lily would be cold.

In other words, Wang Shouren and his [-] soldiers had grass growing on their bodies in the wilderness.

"I want you gentlemen to wait with me, isn't it possible?"

The emperor's tone became a little indifferent.

It’s fine for you to sing against the tune at ordinary times, but now let each of your yamen send a person to wait for the changes in the war together, and listen to my summons at any time to discuss countermeasures. Do you feel wronged, or what?

Liu Jian understood that the emperor made this decision because of inner anxiety and wanted more people to share the burden.

So he has nothing to object to.

……

……

The meeting ended.

According to the emperor's decree, every yamen in the six ministries must send someone to the Wenhua Palace, and it is stipulated that they must be above the "servant minister", which probably means that I don't want to listen to the opinions of ordinary people.

And when the emperor asked to send people before, he deliberately mentioned the upper hearing department before the six departments after the cabinet, probably to give the cabinet face.

This matter was left by Li Rong to mobilize the call.

"My lords, I'm old and old, and I can't fulfill my great responsibilities. I hope you can understand your majesty's good intentions. As for who to send, you can discuss clearly by yourself, or you can recommend yourself."

Li Rong also looked like a good old man, and his way of speaking was very similar to that of Dai Yi, the chief inspector of ceremonies, but his "simplicity" contained some shrewdness.

But in fact, his ability is not as good as that of Xiao Jing, even Li Rong himself knows this.

But if it is better than Dai Yi... Li Rong knows that he is much stronger.

As for his loyalty to the emperor, Li Rong felt stronger again.

Xie Qian walked over and asked with a smile: "The auditorium and the cabinet each have people, do you need to send two people there?"

Li Rong smiled and said: "It's not impossible for Mr. Li Ge to represent both the cabinet department and the listening office."

Zhang Mao also came over and said: "The old lady is old and dim-sighted, and it is hard to bear the chores in the palace. Today I have to stay in the palace to advise His Majesty. The old man will bear the hard work by himself and stay in the palace in the name of the Governor's Mansion."

Didn't your cabinet want Li Dongyang to represent both the cabinet and the hearing office?

Then I, Zhang Mao, cannot be suppressed by you. It is my turn to have decision-making power. Although I, Zhang Mao, am old, it is still my duty to represent Wu Xun of the Dudu Mansion.

Change someone else?
I'm afraid that group of people are not capable enough.

In other words, their right to speak is too low.

Xie Qian said with a smile: "Why should the Duke of England look for trouble? For such matters, it is better to find someone who has experience in governing the army in the Northwest in recent years. I think Duke Cheng is good."

Zhang Mao curled his lips and said, "Duke Cheng has already gone to Nanjing, don't you know about Yu Qiao?"

"he……"

Xie Qian couldn't help frowning.

If it is said that Zhu Fu went to Nanjing, everyone knows why.

However, the emperor did not explicitly say that Zhu Fu should return to Nanjing to take over Xu Yu's garrison for Nanjing... Now let people go first, is the emperor planning to "kill first and report later"?is it necessary?Who will be the garrison in Nanjing, that is your own family business, Your Majesty, we can't even take care of the northwest affairs, who cares about this?
Zhou Jing came over and said, "I will go to the Ministry of Households. If you talk about the Dudu's Mansion, you can actually use Baoguo Gong!"

Zhou Jing knew that he was going to retire soon, so he didn't let the two servants take on any errands to guard the Wenhua Palace, he just wanted to go by himself.

When Li Rong saw that several people were still arguing about who should be appointed as the representative by the Dudu Mansion, he said with a smile: "Everyone should discuss in the office, and there is no need to listen to other people's opinions, everyone. The old man will wait outside first, and please make your own decisions." , come out and wait, the old man can lead the way to Wenhua Palace together!"

……

……

The final candidates are determined.

Except that Shangshu Zhoujing was sent to the household department, Li Dongyang was sent by the cabinet, and Li Dongyang also represented the Shangting Department.

Zuo Shilang wants to take charge of the affairs of the ministry and has no time to go, and other ministers also claim to be very busy. It seems that only Zhou Jing, the minister in charge of money and food, is idle. The department is also the busiest time.

A group of people went to Wenhua Hall with Li Rong.

Xie Qian and Liu Jian went back to the cabinet to be on duty. After the two arrived on duty, before the door was closed, someone came in to deliver a brazier.

"It's a little early, right? Clothes are tight, and the doors and windows are closed. It's not so cold." Xie Qian said.

The guard who brought the charcoal fire said: "This is a special order from His Majesty. There are a lot of charcoal this year, and it will be everywhere after the cold weather."

"Carbon?"

Xie Qian glanced sideways at Liu Jian, as if to say, look, the "sequelae" of the emperor's reuse of Zhang Bingkuan have occurred, and all kinds of things that did not exist in the past have now begun to affect our daily life.

After the brazier was put down, Xie Qian couldn't just close all the doors and windows, it was necessary to ventilate.

Xie Qian said: "Yesterday I went to Wang Dehui, and he told me that after he went to Liaodong from Bo'an, he never sent a letter to his home. It seems that His Majesty and Zhang Bingkuan are deliberately trying to prevent him from leaning towards us. ah."

The traditional civil servants represented by Liu Jian seem to know how to "undercut the wall".

Wang Shouren is currently the number one capable minister under Zhang Zhou's command. After Wang Shouren temporarily served as the governor of Datong, and then went to Liaodong to serve as the commander of the Nuer Gandu Sidu, Wang Shouren's status in the Ming army rose rapidly. Start with the father of a traditional civil servant.

But Wang Hua didn't cover it either.

Wang Hua has long seen that he is not very popular in the traditional faction, and his educational philosophy for his son is...Stinky boy, do whatever you think of, don't care what your father and I think.

As a result, no matter how the traditional civil servant factions put pressure on the old Wang family and his son, the effect is very weak.

Liu Jian closed his eyes and said, "Wang Dehui seems to be avoiding people recently, or he has different ideas about Bo'an."

Xie Qian said, "We are being too harsh on him?"

Liu Jian shook his head and did not answer such a sharp question.

Xie Qian said again: "The current situation is becoming more and more unreal. Zhang Bingkuan is in Nanjing. Even if he can predict everything on the grassland, he can pass the news on in time? What kind of courage does Wang Bo'an have? , or in what way does His Majesty allow Wang Bo'an to bring six thousand soldiers and horses to attack the hinterland behind Di Yi in such a disregard of life and death?"

Liu Jian still did not answer.

It's time to decide the outcome of the battle, maybe even the outcome has been decided, but before the news is sent back, it seems pointless to care about this.

"If the battle is defeated." Xie Qian sighed suddenly, "I'm afraid no one in the court can bear it."

Liu Jian said: "Is it because Zhang Bingkuan can't bear it?"

Xie Qian frowned and said, "Could it be that Liu Zhongtang thinks that Wang Bo'an and his six thousand soldiers are just giving up like this?"

Liu Jian said seriously: "What happened thousands of miles away, Yu Qiao, what can you and I do to make even the slightest change? Your Majesty has long stopped consulting us on military and political matters. Until now, you think that this What does giving up or not giving up have anything to do with me? Even if you really give up, if you can use Wang Bo'an's blood to make His Majesty understand the consequences of partial obedience and partial belief, it is still unknown to make up for it and set things right?"

As soon as the topic started, Xie Qian fell into a brief silence.

"Ha ha."

Xie Qian smiled bitterly and sighed, "Oh! I finally understand. This defeat is too heavy for us to bear. Even if we win, we can't bear it. Then it's better to be a bystander and laugh at the situation. It is for the victory of the family and the country, and the defeat is for the righteousness of the Qingliu! In this way, bad things turn into good things, after all, we will be invincible!?"

(End of this chapter)