The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

In the Qianqing Palace, after noon, Li Rongli came to report Zhu Houzhao's itinerary after leaving the palace.

"Meet the private students. They are specially selected by Bingkuan in order to cultivate useful talents. They are nominally for his own use, for the development of mining, blacksmithing, and Wang Gong Factory, but they are also for shipbuilding and future development. Confucian officials can govern a country if they have talents that can be put to use, but they cannot govern affairs."

Zhu Youtang spoke frankly in front of Li Rong.

It seems that he is deeply aware of the weakness of civil servants' ability to govern affairs.

Li Rong smiled and said: "After checking in Dongchang, they are all children with no background. Many of them are children of craftsmen. I am afraid that they will not be able to achieve great things in the future."

"They don't need to become big things, as long as they can apply what they have learned, and then let them cultivate new disciples. I think it is necessary for Bingkuan to do this, and we can't always rely on Bingkuan for everything. If Bingkuan can Why not teach what he has learned to more talented people so that Ming Dynasty can be filled with talented people in these areas?"

As a king, Zhu Youtang naturally knew the importance of cultivating talents.

Li Rong originally did not agree with cultivating "special talents", but now that the emperor is full of expectations for this, and Zhang Zhou always applies and informs the emperor when doing things, and basically does not make his own decisions, this will make him He felt that it was safer for him to side with the emperor.

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true, there is hope for the Ming Dynasty and ZTE." Li Rong quickly praised.

Zhu Youtang asked: "Has anyone from the DPRK been found in Dongchang recently? What do they have to say about the war in the northwest?"

The emperor paid great attention to the operation of the secret service.

Li Rong said cautiously: "Although there is a lot of discussion about this battle, both in the government and in the public, it seems... none of them are on point."

"What is on point?"

Zhu Youtang didn't even understand. You, Li Rong, are quite "assertive"?

Can you judge for yourself what "on point" means?

Li Rongdao: "Since His Majesty proposed to lead troops into the Hetao in the court, some people have pointed out that the land in the Hetao is not enough and there are no key passes to guard it. Moreover, the land is vast and sparsely populated and is often disturbed by the Tatars. Building the passes will definitely waste people and money. If we don’t build passes, we will waste a lot of money on raising troops and people.”

"Humph." Zhu Youtang looked unkind and seemed to be disdainful of this.

Li Rong analyzed: "If money and grain are allocated from Yansui and other places to the Hetao area, it will increase the expenditure by hundreds of thousands taels every year. I am afraid that the northwest money and grain dispatch will be even more embarrassing."

"I guess they are right, but if they ignore the great rivers and mountains just because they want to increase waste, then how can I have the face to meet the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty?"

When Zhu Youtang said this, he was somewhat heroic.

Even if I can't be a king who expands the territory, at least I can't lose the land of my ancestors.

Li Rongdao: "Then some people said that since they want to take back the Hetao, they should lead the army with Cai Guogong, Xinjian Bo and others, or get twice the result with half the effort, instead of procrastinating the march without achieving results like now. If you want to do it, you have to do it. to the most productive thing.”

"Haha." Zhu Youtang smiled instead of being angry, "They are not stupid enough and know Bingkuan's role."

Li Rongpai smiled and said: "Of course they can't understand His Majesty's intentions, but some people are saying that in recent years, Ming Dynasty has paid too much attention to military affairs, but has been somewhat neglectful of Ming Dynasty's education and other matters. In addition, Ming Dynasty has paid too much attention to military affairs in recent years. As natural disasters continue, if we can put the same focus on the northwest as on the people..."

Zhu Youtang raised his hand to interrupt Li Rong. He seemed to be unable to listen anymore.

He seemed to understand why Li Rong would say that the opinions of people in the DPRK were not "on point."

Zhu Youtang stood up and took steps, as if he was about to go to the inner hall. He would leave the affairs of the court to the ceremonial supervisors, and it was time for him to slack off or take a rest.

Zhu Youtang said: "Protecting the soil is for the sake of the people. Who said that the use of troops in the northwest is not for the people? Only when the people do not suffer the disaster of war can the Ming Dynasty prosper... If it is as they say, we must not only concentrate on one thing, but also concentrate on another. If it’s the same, then there won’t be any progress.”

"Your Majesty, do you want to compile the opinions of the ministers and report them?" Li Rong is more thoughtful than Xiao Jing. He is the admiral of Dongchang. If the people below have any opinions, he can directly compile them into a book.

Zhu Youtang glanced sideways at Li Rong and said, "That's not necessary. I want to know what they said, but I don't want to go into details one by one. As long as they don't cause trouble for Daming and me, I would rather not know who said what." . But actually...I know to some extent whoever among them has any opinions."

"Your Majesty, and Duke Cai..." Li Rong reminded.

Dongchang also has surveillance on Zhang Zhou.

Zhu Youtang glanced at him and said, "Do you think I don't believe in Bingkuan?"

Li Rongdao: "People from Dongchang and Jinyiwei usually hang around Cai Guogong. There are many things that Dongchang doesn't want to know, and there will be a lot of news."

"Hahaha." Zhu Youtang said with a smile, "Just because Bingkuan is an honest man, what secrets can he have? Those who don't know may think he is doing something big behind his back. Only I know everything Bingkuan does. Everything can be put on the table!"

"Yes."

Li Rong was ashamed.

I originally wanted to secretly monitor Zhang Zhou more and help the emperor supervise the powerful officials, but now it seems that it is not unreasonable for those colleagues who are in charge of rituals to be ignored by the emperor.

As a mature man, he naturally knows how to take sides.

In other words, at his old age, he really has no choice in which direction to stand.

……

...cabinet value.

Liu Jian looked at the battle reports from various places in the northwest, and he fell into deep thought. At this time, Xie Qian was not on duty during the day because he had to be on duty at night. Li Dongyang came over and handed over a memorial: "The first thing Bao Guo Gong went to after he came out of seclusion. The yellow sand in the sky is not a good sign."

Liu Jian glanced at Li Dongyang and said, "Why do you believe these things?"

Li Dongyang sat aside and said: "I specifically asked people in the palace that your Majesty has not summoned anyone in the past few days, and the Shangting Office has not dealt with any urgent military matters in the northwest. Your Majesty does not seem to have high expectations for this war. , people can’t understand it.”

The two were silent for a while.

The emperor tried his best to mobilize [-] to [-] troops and horses to attack Hetao, but he seemed not to care much about it and even rarely asked about it.

This is puzzling.

"There are still no new developments in Datong?" Liu Jian asked.

Li Dongyang shook his head and said: "Don't say it's the movement of the march. There hasn't even been a memorial in Datong these days. However, I learned from some channels that Bo'an has been attending regular meetings as usual recently and there is no sign of sending troops. As for the fact that everyone is closed at night According to the news we got, there is still no news about the Tatar soldiers and horses."

Liu Jiandao: "In other words, in the entire northwest, only the five troops sent by the Ming Dynasty are on the bright side?"

"Yes." Li Dongyang nodded, "If the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, it will indeed be disadvantageous. However, the firearms created by Zhang Bingkuan are highly praised by everyone in the court. They have always emphasized that they are not afraid of head-on confrontation. Now more and more people are Speculate whether the Tatars will really show up to fight with our troops. Some people are also talking about the fact that without Bo'an and others leading the troops on the frontal battlefield, the chances of the Ming Dynasty's troops winning... are all unclear."

Liu Jian sighed: "Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Shenji Battalion has been equipped with a lot of equipment. Isn't it possible that the generals in the army don't even understand the basic Shenji Battalion tactics?"

Li Dongyang said: "This trend originated from the military exercise in person outside the city after the year. It is said that many generals changed their understanding of the battlefield."

"So evil?" Liu Jian frowned.

Li Dongyang said again: "I once borrowed Bo'an's father and sent him a letter, but he did not reply. I heard that Qin Shiying wrote a memorial to beg for his old age to return to his fields, which had great intentions to promote Bo'an... The situation in the northwest is now more... It depends on Bo’an’s attitude, what do you think?”

Qin Hong wanted to resign and let Wang Shouren take the position of the tripartite leader.

In this way, the issue of which is more important between the three parties and Xuanda will be solved, and there will be no confrontation between the two parties. Qin Hong obviously has an overall view of the situation in this matter.

Everyone can see that now the emperor only pays attention to the military affairs around Datong, and has neglected the military affairs on the three sides.

"Binzhi, what do you think your Majesty's intention is with this move?"

Liu Jian asked the question he had been thinking about recently.

Li Dongyang said: "Knocking on old honors, establishing Zhang Bingkuan's status in the army, and helping him secure his position as Minister of War, and then using Bo'an and others to deploy troops in the northwest, or have the intention of running the grassland, after all... is to do... Change the situation between North Korea and China.”

Liu Jiandao: "Besides Bo'an, who else can be of great use to him?"

Li Dongyang couldn't answer this question for a while.

Liu Jian said again: "He exercised power in the court, but left others in the towns in the northwest, and even some in the south. Recently, His Majesty has been involved in the matter of Lu Wan of Liaodong returning to the court. Both the government and the public are so busy. There are many people, how many of them can be dedicated to his use?”

Li Dongyang asked: "Are you going to... pluck out his wings first? Hiss... it is indeed difficult for him to accomplish anything big by himself, but after all... His Majesty is always on his side."

Liu Jian glanced at him with his eyes.

It probably means, what do you care about His Majesty's flag?The point is, to put more constraints on Zhang Bingkuan when employing people, it is best for everyone to stay away from him.

"Then I really should walk around the court more and recruit as many potential people as possible. The clear flow of water in the court is precious." Li Dongyang understood what Liu Jian meant, and he was about to start his own action.

……

……

Liu Jian wanted Zhang Zhou to have no one available.

But in fact, Zhang Zhou didn't need to hire people with strong abilities at the time. What he wanted... was just someone with whom he had a strong relationship.

For example... Lin Ting, one of the brothers-in-law who just returned to the capital recently.

This time Lin Ting was transferred back to the capital to study in the Yanwu Hall. His official position was promoted one level and he was already a member of the Ministry of Etiquette.

Originally, any member of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of War could take any job in the Yanwu Hall, but there was no room for him in these three ministries, and his father was now the Minister of Rites, so Lin Ting decided to work in the Yanwu Hall. Due to Northwest's achievements, he was promoted to Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Rites in a short time.

Two years after becoming a Jinshi, he was promoted to a foreign minister, which was considered very fast.

"Mr. Cai Guogong, I am not very capable. I am afraid that I don't have any real knowledge or insights to teach the generals in the army. Please ask someone else who is wise."

The first thing he did when he entered the Yanwu Hall was to talk to Zhang Zhou and make excuses.

He felt that he could not do such a great job of teaching and educating people. After all, it was no longer enough to just hang around in Yu Yanwu Hall like before. He had to have real talent and practical learning to gain a foothold. (End of chapter)