The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 428 Precursor of Comprehensive Compromise

Qianqing Palace, meeting at the hearing office.

Li Rong, as the Chief Eunuch Bingbi of the Ministry of Rites, also officially became a member of the Shangting Office. The identities of Li Dongyang, Ma Wensheng, and Zhang Mao remained the same, but this time the Shangting Office added the Household Minister Zhou Jing.

It is clear at a glance that the emperor wants to use the victory in the battle to dispatch military supplies to the northwest. In fact, it is tantamount to telling the courtiers that the members of the listening office are not like the cabinet. They work for a lifetime and can be changed at any time. Let me tell you... It depends on my mood, whoever I let in will enter.

If the cabinet has always existed as the emperor's adviser, but after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet's real power increased, and it could not satisfy the emperor in terms of its advisory duties.

The cabinet only cares about the civil servants, not the prime minister, but also the leader of the civil servants. Obviously, the cabinet is not as smooth and convenient as the hearing.

"...Bingkuan has rarely been in the capital in the past year. In fact, I have no idea about the deployment of iron cavalry and gunpowder. Instead, I think that a batch of military rations and ironware should be stored in Xuanfu and Datong. There is no need to put all the money and food in Taicang.”

The vague meaning in Zhu Youtang's words is to set up a small imperial court in the northwest.

Everything is dispatched by the Ministry of Households and Taicang, which makes the Northwest passive in governing the army. The Northwest has to apply to the court for any needs. , but the dispatch of money and food, even the court knows that there are deficits everywhere, and it is impossible to make up for it.

Li Dongyang said: "Your Majesty, the Xuan Mansion already has enough money and food, and there is no need to increase it."

Zhu Youtang said coldly: "I know that it is enough to survive the winter, but in recent years, many fields in the northwest have been abandoned. When I asked Bingkuan to go south, I also checked the grain storage of the Nanjing household department, investigated the canals and transportation, and worked out a proper plan for the future consumption of the Northwest."

Zhou Jingdao: "Your Majesty, the Department of Housekeeping's money and grain allocation involves Yingtian Mansion and Jiangnan, and the Ministry of War should not intervene."

Zhu Youtang asked back: "Bingkuan is nominally the Minister of the Southern Military Department, but in fact, don't you know his role? For the military affairs of the Northwest, I ordered him to investigate, and it was entirely for the smooth progress of the frontier administration. It’s not all about selfishness.”

It's not all selfish, it shows that there is still selfishness, which the emperor himself admitted.

"I have sent people to Xishan to investigate. The iron smelting there is very smooth. It is said that the iron mines opened in Yongping Mansion have been piled up in the mines. Because of the lack of manpower, the coal mines and iron mines opened cannot be obtained. To make use of it, the [-] troops I transferred to Jizhou before were dispatched to Yongping Mansion to assist in the affairs of the mine."

Zhu Youtang's words were somewhat incomprehensible to several members of the Auditor's Office present.

Li Rong asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, can you ask the [-] soldiers in the Beijing camp to help transport ore and pig iron?"

Zhu Youtang said: "That's a trivial matter. From now on, the 1 people will be assigned to the mine."

"But Your Majesty." Li Dongyang had a keen mind, and immediately heard that the emperor was going to work again, and he immediately objected, "There are many disadvantages in the occupation of the Beijing camp. If the soldiers of the Beijing camp cannot return to the camp, their duties will not be completed. I am afraid that laxness will cause gaps in the guards of the capital."

Zhu Youtang narrowed his eyes and said, "Why do I think it would be more beneficial for the defense of the capital to cast iron into cannons and grind ore into gunpowder powder? When did the Ming Dynasty only rely on these ten thousand soldiers to defend the capital? Is it? If something goes wrong with the military and government in the Northwest, the capital will be in danger at any time, which one is more important, do you still use me to explain it?"

Li Dongyang felt helpless in his heart.

In the past, even if the emperor had a personality, at least he still followed the rules set by civil servants and never broke the rules.

But now it seems that the emperor did not intend to abide by the previous rules, and even took pride in being "unconventional".

Doesn't that mean that these ten thousand soldiers have become Zhang Zhou's family soldiers?

Zhou Jingdao: "Your Majesty, when Lai State opened the mine, His Majesty had said first that he was in charge of the affairs of the mine, dispatched manpower, and the imperial court did not even ask about it. He even purchased the charcoal and ironware he made with the money and grain of the household department. Now it is in Beijing. The soldiers of the battalion are called by him, but I don’t know whether the mine affairs should be brought under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, or..."

"I speak well, do you want me to renege on my promise?" Zhu Youtang said.

Now not only Zhou Jing was speechless, but the surrounding people, even Li Rong and Zhang Mao, who seemed to be watching from the other side, couldn't bear to listen anymore.

The private use of public equipment is indeed Emperor Hongzhi's specialty. In the past, the Beijing camp was occupied by soldiers, and the soldiers of the Beijing camp were dedicated to doing some hard work for the repair of palaces and temples. where to go.

It's more direct now.

Soldiers in the Beijing camp no longer worked for the imperial court, nor did they simply work for the royal family, but went directly to "private" workers, and the boss behind them was Zhang Zhou, who opened the mine.

Zhu Youtang said: "I know what you are thinking, you think this mine is Bingkuan, and he has not fully handed over the proceeds from the mine to the imperial court, but have you forgotten the matter of his previous redemption of money? In the past year, have you ever owed your salary? Isn't it all based on the output of the mine?"

What the emperor means is that Bingkuan is paying you wages for me, why do you still not understand him so much?

"Aside from Bingkuan, who else knows how to smelt iron? Who else knows how to cast cannons? Can you make cannons and guns that are farther away, more powerful, or lighter and more effective in combat? Handing it over to him, no one can take the responsibility, and now not only the officials of the capital, but even the local officials from all over the world are grateful for the favor of the mining tax."

"If I transfer some manpower to Bing Kuan to help him succeed, I will forge a few more cannons for the court and add more bricks and tiles to the country. If you all oppose it, I don't know what your intentions are."

What Zhu Youtang said was a bit ugly.

Probably means.

Only Zhen and Bingkuan are dedicated to the Ming Dynasty. As for you, your intentions are very bad, or are you all spies planted by the Tatars in our Ming Dynasty?

If not, then why does every time what you advocate go against what I think is the plan to flatten the grassland?How dare you say that you are not supporting the Tartars?
Zhu Youtang was probably also angry, and when his anger subsided a little, his tone softened a lot, and he said in a sensible way: "I have also thought about the lack of training of these ten thousand soldiers, in fact, it is possible Don't worry, because Bing Kuan was originally a post in the Dudu's Mansion. He raised 1 soldiers and horses to complete daily artillery and firecracker training. Or on the battlefield, these [-] people are still the elite of my Daming Shenji Battalion. "

It is said to be a family soldier, but it is really a family soldier.

The imperial court paid Zhang Zhou a job, and now even the daily training is in charge of Zhang Zhou. Does that mean that all the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses are under Zhang Zhou's control?

If the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses come in disorder, it will affect the safety of Daming...

Ma Wensheng couldn't listen anymore, and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, it is totally unacceptable to train soldiers with civil servants. Even if you are a martial artist, you can't train a battalion of soldiers alone, and you are not in the capital."

Zhu Youtang said: "I don't understand. If the civil servants and Wu Xun can't train soldiers, then the governors and general soldiers in the northwest are all mediocre people who don't know how to fight? You just treat me as Bingkuan There are two mines in Xishan and Yongping Mansion... and two mines in Datong and Zhangjiakou, let him use this as a base to garrison with the Beijing camp! Is this no problem?"

"These mines of the Ming Dynasty are the most important thing for the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty in the future. If the Tatars or bandits occupy these important places, the fate of the Ming Dynasty will be threatened! I transferred these 1 people, as if they were Let's go see the mine!"

It's just a change of statement. The members of the Auditor's Office present seemed to be unable to find any reason to refute.

……

……

The matter of [-] soldiers from the Beijing camp to assist in mining was decided in such a "friendly" way.

Instead of discussing at the upper level, it is only decided at the meeting of the upper hearing office, and it is not even mentioned after the meeting... It is tantamount to saying that the upper hearing office not only exists as an advisory authority, but also directly The power to decide the highest affairs of Ming Dynasty.

In the past, most things were proposed by the ministers. After the emperor asked the ministers to discuss, he decided whether to adopt it based on the pros and cons.

But now it is directly changed to, the emperor makes a proposal in the inner court, which is equivalent to notifying a few people at the hearing place, and then the decision can be made.

As for why the emperor suddenly became so assertive... Everyone in the court knew that it was Zhang Zhou who was playing tricks behind his back, but the problem was that many things knew where the source came from, but they couldn't do anything about it...

"Difficult!"

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Zhang Mao, who always pretended to be a guest, expressed such emotion as everyone walked out.

Zhou Jing asked: "Your Excellency, are you lamenting that the Beijing camp is not enough?"

"Hehe." Zhang Mao laughed, "The Beijing camp still doesn't lack the 1 people, but it's not certain if there will be a Beijing camp in the future..."

Zhang Mao also felt that the emperor was gradually dividing the authority to guard the capital.

This is the reason why Zhang Mao participated in the impeachment of Zhang Zhou with Tu Yu and the others, but later Zhang Mao also saw that Wu Xun was just a vulgar person in Wen Chen's mind, and Wen Chen didn't want to bring Wu Xun to play with him in politics. Without Zhang Zhou's rise, there would be no need to fight against Zhang Zhou.

And... Zhang Zhou is also someone Zhang Mao can't afford to mess with.

Ma Wensheng looked at Zhou Jing on one side and said, "After the spring of next year, how much grain will Jingcang transfer to Xuanda and Sanbian?"

Zhou Jing was surprised and said: "Ma Shangshu, don't you know? Your Majesty has not told the Ministry of Households individually that there will be an increase in expenses."

Ma Wensheng said: "Your Majesty didn't mean that, or did you say..."

Some words are left unfinished.

It is probably saying that His Majesty is not pleasing to your eyes, so he is going to talk to your successor, that is, Zhong Zhong, instead of talking to you?
Although Zhou Jing is in the position of Hubu Shangshu, his successor has actually been determined a long time ago. The emperor has already named him to take the position, but he has waited for a long time and has not waited for Zhou Jing, but he has not. I think Ni Yue, who hadn't been Minister of the Ministry of Officials for a few days, was ordered to retire first.

Things are so strange.

Zhou Jingdao: "Maybe your Majesty has no plans to go to war in the Northwest next year? On the contrary, His Majesty has often asked about the Bohai Governor's shipbuilding recently."

Li Dongyang frowned and said, "Your Majesty asked you?"

Zhou Jing glanced at Li Rong, who was leading the way in front of him. At this time, Li Rong was old after all. He seemed to be old and dim, and he couldn't even walk steadily. .

This group of civil servants have all seen this.

Zhou Jing sighed, "Maybe."

Saying it is possible is actually an affirmative answer.

Li Dongyang and Ma Wensheng looked at each other, as if they had read something from each other's eyes.

Zhang Bingkuan's next plan seems to no longer be to toss the Northwest... Or, before Daming forges enough artillery and firecrackers to level the grassland, his plan is to go to shipbuilding and Jinghai instead?
What is he drawing?

……

……

"What, shipbuilding?" the cabinet valued.

After Liu Jian learned of Zhou Jing's unintentional leak from Li Dongyang, he didn't think about it.

Xie Qian was on the side, but he seemed disapproving and said: "Tang Bohu has not been the governor of the Bohai Sea for a day or two. He has already gone to the south of the Yangtze River to raise the cost of shipbuilding. You two, don't make a fuss?"

Li Dongyang glanced back and said, "Then Yu Qiao, tell me, what is His Majesty's intention to send Zhang Bingkuan to Jiangnan?"

"Uh……"

Xie Qian pondered for a while and asked, "Cultivate the prince?"

This answer made Li Dongyang somewhat speechless.

If ordinary ministers in the DPRK still think that Zhang Zhou abducted Zhu Houzhao, how could they cabinet ministers not know that the prince actually "run away from home"?
And even if Zhu Youtang trusted Zhang Zhou again, it was impossible for Zhang Zhou to take the prince to the south of the Yangtze River, and to accompany the prince to play and practice as the main purpose of Zhang Zhou's trip south.

"Or, Zhang Bingkuan left Beijing to go south just to avoid the disaster and want to take the lead in the disaster and give His Majesty a reason to let me stop criticizing him for the disaster. There is really no need to think about it." Xie Qian said .

Li Dongyang said: "Speaking of which, I got news a few days ago that Yang Peng, the admiral of the East Factory, sent people to Jiangxi many times."

Liu Jian said: "Binzhi, have you ever thought about why?"

"Maybe it has something to do with Ning Fan." Li Dongyang said, "Ning Fan has been restless in the past decades, and has repeatedly asked for the restoration of guards but failed. Ning Fan's ambitions are clearly revealed, and His Majesty has never had any reason to take action against him. Besides, the matter of the vassal clan of the Ming Dynasty cannot be dismissed, and His Majesty may intend to let Zhang Bingkuan deal with it."

Liu Jian shook his head and said: "Your Majesty knows that Zhang Bingkuan has offended too many people in the court, so logically speaking, he would not let him touch such things."

Xie Qian said with a smile: "Then let's build a ship. It seems more reasonable."

If you can't guess why Zhang Zhou went to Nanjing, then think in a straightforward direction.

Liu Jian asked: "Has Your Majesty ordered him to return to Beijing?"

Li Dongyang shook his head and said: "Because His Majesty has not made a final decision on his errands after returning to Beijing, even if he is called back, it may be done in secret. However, it is reasonable to say that His Majesty has already let the wind out, and he will send people there immediately. "

Liu Jian said: "The purpose of Zhang Bingkuan's trip to the south has never been clearly thought through, so why did His Majesty call him back this time?"

For a while, both Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were dumbfounded.

If Zhang Zhou had a mission to go south, why should the emperor call Zhang Zhou back in such a hurry if he did not complete it?Just because the emperor felt that Zhang Zhou, a counselor, was indispensable, so he had to rush to see him?
Liu Jian continued: "Your Majesty didn't say who would hand over the job of Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. Could it be that His Majesty will release this job to someone other than Zhang Bingkuan?"

"You mean." Li Dongyang said, "Your Majesty will choose the next Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing from among the people around Zhang Bingkuan?"

Liu Jian said: "It doesn't necessarily have to be the existing people, but Zhang Bingkuan must have contributed to the recommendation, but do you know who he is going to recommend?"

This questioned Li Dongyang and Xie Qian again.

The emperor first asked Zhang Zhou to be the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, and replaced Ni Yue, which seemed "reasonable and reasonable". Sending them south is entirely in the interests of traditional Beijing officials.

But then Ni Yue was ordered to resign and Zhang Zhou was transferred back...

This will make Liu Jian feel.

The emperor used a detour to fight back, taking the position of Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing and handing it over to Zhang Zhou.

When Zhang Zhou left, he recommended someone to come up and occupy the Shangshu of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. Zhang Zhou was equivalent to occupying half of the military and political power in the south of the Yangtze River.

Xie Qian smiled wryly and said, "Who could it be? Tang Bohu? Or Wang Dehua? It can't be Wang Bo'an, right? Two new scholars, one leap to become the Minister of the Ming Dynasty? The Minister of the Ministry of War in the north and the south? Liu Zhongtang, will you be too Are you overwhelmed?"

Li Dongyang sighed: "Whether His Majesty did it deliberately or not, I don't know. But before the grassland was calm, Daming went from the Ministry of War to the Governor's Mansion, and then to the governors in the northwest. It is probably impossible for His Majesty to trust anyone other than Zhang Bingkuan. "

This made Xie Qian sigh.

Li Dongyang was not complaining.

Just stating a fact.

Since the emperor was determined to flatten the grassland, he must complete the relevant supporting tasks. Zhang Zhou was the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing would definitely use people who Zhang Zhou thought could stabilize the corner. After all, when Daming was in the north, the south The stability of the city is equally important, and it is necessary to prevent someone from taking the opportunity to cause chaos.

As for the Northwest from the Trilateral General System to the Xuanda General System, and then to Jizhou, Liaodong and other places, Zhang Zhou's people will definitely be replaced gradually.

But who it is is hard to say.

Li Dongyang said: "Zhang Bingkuan's employment in the past two years has not been according to the old principles, but every time he recommends the person he uses, he can be independent. On the contrary, he used Yang Yingning, the governor of Ningxia, but it didn't achieve any results. It's not that Yang Yingning's ability is insufficient. Let's see. It’s not that the DPRK and China have not cooperated.”

"Why is that?" Xie Qian asked eagerly.

Li Dongyang frowned and said, "It's because of your Majesty's expectations for the military and government in the Northwest. People who were not recommended by Zhang Bingkuan couldn't understand it well. Just like the battle in Ningxia, there was no Wang Bo'an's surprise attack on the grassland, and Yang Yingning sent troops to Ningxia alone." , what effect will it have?"

Xie Qian said: "Maybe it's really not the case. Guess, if Yang Yingning was replaced by Wang Bo'an, would the result be very different?"

Liu Jian raised his hand to interrupt the conversation between the two, saying: "Don't make unreasonable speculations about things that haven't happened. The victory in the Northwest is a good deed for Daming to stabilize the country. Regarding the Northwest, let's take a step at a time."

The subtext is to remind Li Dongyang and Xie Qian.

We can't beat Zhang Zhou, so let's compromise.

Put that kid in the position, he likes to do whatever he likes.

(End of this chapter)