The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The meeting ended.

The ministers each left the palace and returned to their offices, while the four cabinet members returned to their duty rooms. Cheng Minzheng was then sent to the Hanlin Academy to handle matters related to book revision.

Xie Qian said: "Did you all hear what Zhang Bingkuan said today? He wanted to plant some food from nowhere near the capital, and he also said that he would promote it to become the rations of the people of the Ming Dynasty. It has been passed down for thousands of years. He wants to change his eating and living habits, but this kind of person is afraid that there is nothing he can’t do.”

The three of them sent Cheng Minzheng away just to criticize Zhang Zhou privately.

Li Dongyang frowned and said, "It's puzzling to say, what on earth is Zhang Bingkuan going to do?"

Liu Jiandao: "You guys take a look at this first..."

Li Dongyang and Xie Qian walked over, but saw a letter that looked like "grapevine" in front of Liu Jian. It was a report given by the stations along the way when the south was transporting imported goods. It did not require instructions from above, it was just a kind of letter. A routine-like introduction.

"Silver...hundreds of thousands of taels?" Xie Qian couldn't help but take a breath when he saw this sentence.

"Yes." Liu Jiandao, "I also specifically asked people in the inner palace, and the information I learned can probably confirm this matter. The amount of silver obtained by sending the ship out to sea this time is only a lot more."

"Where did it come from? Was it robbed?" Xie Qian asked.

Liu Jian shook his head and said he didn't know.

Xie Qian continued to ask: "Then why was this matter not mentioned in court today?"

Li Dongyang said: "Yu Qiao, do you still need to ask? Your Majesty obviously does not want people in the court to know the existence of this money so quickly, and your Majesty does not intend to use the money on court affairs."

The implication is that this is the money in the emperor's private pocket and will not be used by the Ming Dynasty's household department.

"If so much silver... is obtained from overseas, then the silver on the market is not considered money." Xie Qian sighed, "I have indeed heard recently that there seems to be more silver circulating in the market than before. .”

Li Dongyang shook his head and said: "What happened just now will not be released to the market so quickly, so there is no need to catch it."

Xie Qian said: "That's why your Majesty is so keen on letting Zhang Bingkuan continue to send ships to sea? What's going on with the so-called new food and new rations?"

"Who knows?" Li Dongyang sighed, "We will only know what happened after the next spring sowing and summer harvesting. We have seen a lot of strange things like this in recent years, so we should be mentally prepared. We should also know that he Zhang Bingkuan seems to never fight an uncertain battle, and this guy always comes prepared."

Xie Qian clenched his fists and looked very annoyed and said: "Why did he get angry? I didn't die or go down, so it's just... out of control? In the past few years... I've been angry enough. Well, if he continues to toss like this, the whole government and the public will just have to watch him do it alone!"

……

……

By preaching about the new grain in the court, Zhang Zhou made those who were neutrals look at him with even greater admiration.

That's it.

What Zhang Zhou is promoting sounds like a plan that will last hundreds or even thousands of years. The pattern is laid out there. Although most people don’t know what the new crop is, but listening to Zhang Zhou’s layout, they feel that it is high-end. From a neutral perspective It began to gradually tilt towards Zhang Zhou.

After the court meeting.

However, Zhang Mao blocked Zhang Zhou at the entrance of the palace, as if chatting about common things, and insisted on chatting with Zhang Zhou at the Yamen of the Ministry of War.

People who had something to talk to Zhang Zhou had to avoid it when they saw Zhang Mao being so shameless.

"Bingkuan, you have to help me. I don't know who is spreading rumors behind my back, saying that my behavior is... inappropriate, and also slandering me, saying that I have deducted military pay and enriched my own pocket. What do you think about this? I know best, but I have to defend myself..."

Zhang Mao's purpose is very clear.

He wanted Zhang Zhou to come out and support him, so that others would not dare to criticize him casually.

Of course, he also wanted to test whether Zhang Zhou was behind this matter.

Zhang Zhou said: "Public discussion? If the British public has never done it, why should he care so much? Rumors stop among the wise."

Zhang Mao looked over with an incredulous expression and asked, "You didn't do this, right?"

"Haha." Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Everyone in the Governor's Mansion is on the same page, so doing this won't do me any good, right? Besides, what does your British father-in-law's actions have to do with me? ? Am I aware of what you did in the Governor's Mansion?"

"you……"

Zhang Mao thought for a moment and was suddenly speechless.

Come to think of it, how many years did Zhang Zhou enter the court?

Besides, there was no need for Zhang Mao to evade what he did in many cases. It was a routine from top to bottom, and everything he did was almost obvious, so Zhang Zhou didn't need to slander him.

"Master!"

"who!"

Zhang Mao was furious when he heard someone calling him that from behind. He thought it was him, so he turned around angrily and glared at him.

But it was someone from Zhang Zhou's side.

The visitor said: "Mr. Cai Guo, His Majesty has given instructions that there are urgent military matters that need to be discussed at the Yanwu Hall. He also said that you must attend in person."

"Okay, I understand, let's go over here." Zhang Zhou waved his hand to the visitor, meaning that you should not show your eyes in front of the angry Zhang Mao. This old man is currently catching and biting whoever he wants.

"Mr. British, you have also heard me. I have urgent official business. It may be that the military situation in the northwest has changed. I won't talk to you much here."

Zhang Zhou said and was about to leave.

Zhang Mao hurriedly stepped forward to block Zhang Zhou and said: "Bingkuan, if others don't help, why don't you help me? I value honor and other matters very seriously."

Zhang Zhou said: "Your honor and integrity are not something I can control. Otherwise, Mr. British, you can go to court, confess your grievances, and let His Majesty make the decision for you. What do you think?"

"Right on my mind."

Zhang Mao said, handing over something he had written a long time ago and saying, "Please Bingkuan, please pass it on to Your Majesty. This is my heartfelt wish. Heaven and earth can be used as a reflection of the sun and the moon. I am devoted to the rejuvenation of the Ming Dynasty. I have never Don’t dare to slack off.”

"hehe."

Zhang Zhou continued to laugh.

This old guy may be into the drama, he really sounds like he is the most powerful loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Little do they know that this kind of professional politicians are the most unprincipled. Even if they change the dynasty, perhaps these people are still thinking about how to curry favor with the imperial power, just to seek their own long-term interests.

…    …

Yan Wu Tang.

When Zhang Zhou arrived, Zhu Youtang had been waiting inside for some time, accompanied by Lu Wan, Zhu Feng and others.

There were several generals next to them, all of whom were lecturers of the Yanwu Hall selected from the Governor's Mansion. Zhang Heling was also standing with his head down. In addition, there was Zhang Yanling who had just returned to the capital. On the sand table in front of the emperor, a deduction seemed to be going on. Regarding the war situation in Ningxia.

"Your Majesty, Duke Cai Guo has arrived." Li Zhang was waiting at the side. When he saw Zhang Zhou had arrived at the door, he quickly reminded Zhu Youtang.

Originally, Zhu Youtang was still listening to Lu Wan's talk, but he couldn't help but turn his eyes when he heard the words.

What Lu Wan said before was pretty good, but once he knew that Zhang Zhou was coming, the emperor would no longer pay attention to Lu Wan's words.

"Bingkuan, you came just in time. I am discussing the military situation in the northwest. It seems that there is a little trouble again."

Zhu Youtang waved to Zhang Zhou to come closer.

Having just come down from Chaoshang, Zhang Zhou did not expect Zhu Youtang to come to Yanwu Hall so quickly.

Before Zhang Zhou arrived at the sand table, Zhu Youtang signaled to Li Zhang. Li Zhang said, "That's it. The battle report I just learned this morning said that the Tatars once again invaded from Huamachi. Due to the lack of local soldiers, There was no defense, so the Tatars once again broke through the barrier, but this time the Ming soldiers and horses responded quickly, and the Tatars only looted briefly and then withdrew."

Zhang Zhou said: "Ningxia is still not at peace as expected."

Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "This is very close to Bingkuan's expectation, but because there is no Yang Yiqing in Ningxia this time, and the new trilateral chief has not yet arrived in Yansui, the handover has not been completed yet... I guess that maybe the Tatars were expecting the attack at this time and tried to exploit it. Bingkuan, what I mean is that I am ready to teach the Tatars a lesson. Do you have any good ideas?"

It is different from the past when asking for advice was done individually.

This time, Zhu Youtang seemed to intend to let Zhang Zhou show off his skills in front of a small group of "his own people".

Zhang Zhou asked: "Your Majesty, do you think this battle should be held back, or should we..."

"Can't accept it!"

Zhu Youtang said, "At the beginning of the year, Datong was already accumulating food and supplies. In the first half of the year, when Uncle Xinjian asked the court for food, so many people in the court criticized him, saying that he did not understand current affairs and that he You should just give it up when you see it, but now it has been proved that the Tatars will not retreat despite the difficulties. Everything is prepared, then the next step should be to teach them a profound lesson, if it is not painful or itchy If they learn a lesson...then they will get worse."

Li Zhang spoke up and said: "Obviously, Uncle Xinjian is preparing for the Tatar invasion after autumn. This should be because the Ministry of War has already warned. It is Cai Guogong who can predict the enemy like a god."

Zhu Youtang ignored such flattery and continued to ask: "Bingkuan, how do you think this battle should be fought? I have summarized the troops and horses that can be mobilized from various places based on what I have reported before, and you should also We have seen that the three sides can send 150,000 troops, and Datong can send 120,000 troops. If we mobilize troops from the surrounding areas of Gyeonggi, we can send more than 300,000 troops..."

This time Zhu Youtang seems to be eager to become the emperor of the ages.

Zhang Zhou had seen this so-called three hundred thousand soldiers and horses, but it was actually very reluctant.

To recruit more than 150,000 soldiers and horses while ensuring the defense of all areas, they have to be recruited from the Beijing camp and various places. Nearly half of them are logistics supply personnel, and it is difficult to carry weapons to the battlefield.

In fact, the number of soldiers and horses that can be mobilized on the Ming Dynasty's frontier has always been only about 100,000.

Unless we ignore the retreat, attack with all our strength, and retain every soldier and horse everywhere, we can barely manage to raise 300,000 people.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, if you want to fight the Tatars, you don't need so many troops. You might as well mobilize 50,000 troops according to the previous specifications of Xinjianbo's march into the grassland, or... the scale of Baoguo Gong's troops into the Hetao. , what do you think?"

"Fifty thousand? Could it be..."

Zhu Youtang obviously felt that this number was a little too low.

Zhu Hui used 50,000 people to completely disgrace Ming Dynasty. If it hadn't been for that war and Yang Yiqing and other manpower to turn the tide, Ming Dynasty might have collapsed in the northwest.

Zhang Zhou said: "Fifty thousand soldiers and horses are enough, but we need to coordinate more on the selection of generals and the strategy of sending troops."

"I have thought about it and it is most appropriate for Uncle Xinjian to lead the troops." Zhu Youtang felt that Wang Shouren would be the most suitable to lead the troops without even thinking about it.

It was also because the emperor felt that since he was not going to attack all-out, he should find someone who was good at attacking more with less.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, it seems that no one is better at playing this game of using less to win more than Wang Shouren.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Your Majesty, why don't you take a look at the comrades present here to see if there are people of such ability who can lead the troops themselves? And there are also Wang Qiong, the commander-in-chief of the three sides, and others, who may also be suitable to lead the troops? There are also Many of the veteran generals in the court seem to be getting stronger with age."

"is it?"

Zhu Youtang smiled.

There was obviously something wrong with that look.

Lu Wan got some clues while listening. He first looked at Zhang Zhou. When he found that Zhang Zhou did not try his best to let "one of his own" be the leader of the army, he realized that maybe the emperor's so-called pacification of the grassland could not be achieved. It's just a cover.

The invasion of the Tatars may be a pretext, but more importantly, the purge of the army must be completed.

Because Zhang Zhou had told him in detail before that in order to pacify the grassland, there must be three to five years of preparation. And now it is only the second year of preparation. It is impossible that the emperor does not know this preparation period, so the purpose of sending troops now Just ready to come out...

Clear obstacles for the future.

Lu Wandao: "Your Majesty, I also think Cai Guogong's proposal is very good. Knowledgeable generals should be sent to lead the troops... and more knowledgeable Censors and others should be sent to supervise military affairs. I am willing Please order me."

Lu Wan seemed to be fighting for himself, but in fact he was just showing his attitude that he would not back down.

Even Lu Wan himself knew that it was impossible for the emperor and Zhang Zhou to send him there for the time being.

The main reason is that the people who can help Zhang Zhou, such as Wang Qiong, Wang Shouren, Tang Yin and others, are not in the capital now. Only Zhu Feng may be able to help, but this is obviously not for big things. No matter what he Lu Wan It can be said that he can take care of Zhang Zhou's worries.

How could the emperor break Zhang Zhou's left and right hands away now?

"The Lu Qing family is commendable for their courage, but I still feel that we should select some people who can lead troops from among experienced veterans. Previously, Baoguo Gong led troops into Hetao, which greatly disappointed me, but later the result was reversed. It’s not too bad. You can deduce it first and see how this war evolves...which general’s style is more in line with it, or in other words, you can all recommend it to see who is suitable to lead the troops!"

Zhu Youtang seemed to be listening to other people's opinions.

But it also seemed like he was digging a hole for those present.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, this matter should be discussed at the court. In addition to the ministers and ministers coming to the court to recommend, someone should also be found to recommend themselves."

"Yeah." Zhu Youtang nodded.

Just as he was talking, Li Zhang handed over another battle report and said: "Your Majesty, Uncle Xinjian reported that there were signs of a large number of Tatars invading the border at Biantou Pass and other places. The Tatars seemed to want more. For the purpose of invading my important frontier territory, just selecting one or two generals to lead the army is not enough!"

"Then select a few more people. I can't always rely on just a few people in terms of military affairs. I should adopt more people's opinions and let more people shoulder the burden!" (End of Chapter)