Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 26 Zhang Xiao’s Report

Two months later, in the imperial study room.

"Your Majesty, the memorial of Zhang Xiao of Ningxia has been delivered. Along with the memorial are several books written by him. According to your instructions, I will deliver them directly to you first." Chen Ju said.

"Bring it up," the emperor ordered.

The emperor took the memorial and was surprised by its thickness. Then he picked it up and read it carefully. The emperor's expression was calm at first, then a little solemn, and finally a little angry, and then showed joy.

"Okay, Zhang Xiao did a good job. I finally saw the right person. Chen Ju, go and call the cabinet ministers and others." The emperor ordered.

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue came in hand in hand.

"This is Zhang Xiao's memorial. Take a look at it," the emperor ordered.

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue took the memorial and read it together.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I never expected that Dang Xin would be so bold as to openly ask for bribes from high-ranking military officials and deprive the soldiers who guard the fort of food and pay. It almost led to a mutiny." Shen Xiang complained.

"When I saw Zhang Xiao's report, I also felt it was important, but I didn't expect that the situation had become so serious. I apologize." Wang Xijue also apologized.

"Please get up, both of you. I don't mean to blame you two. I didn't expect it to be so serious. At that time, I was just thinking that the northwest border was tense and it would be good to have some reinforcements and supplies. I didn't expect that someone would be so bold. So." The emperor sighed.

"But isn't the punishment proposed by Zhang Xiao too light? Dang Xin is so corrupt that she can just step down from office?" Shen Shixing raised an opinion.

"I think it's too light, but Zhang Xiao's memorial also said that Dang Xin received stolen money during the army reorganization. If he is punished with this crime, the civil and military turmoil will be even worse. Moreover, Kuai Bai and his son have always been Unruly, if Dang Xin is treated like this, if the father and son do something else, no one will dare to stop him," the emperor said.

"That's right. It's just that Kuai Bai and his son did nothing about it, and even Ma Gui came back like this. Your Majesty is too lenient on the military people." Shen Shixing said.

"Zhang Xiao found out about this matter. The Ningxia army is still unstable at the moment, so it's equivalent to asking them to make meritorious deeds. It's better not to cause trouble." The emperor explained for Zhang Xiao.

"Okay, then this matter can be dealt with lightly. It's not easy to explain Dang Xin's guilt. Just say that he retired from office early. Your Majesty, do you think this is appropriate?" Shen Shixing asked the emperor for instructions. .

"Just follow the wishes of Prime Minister Shen. What about the Ye Mengxiong recommended in Zhang Xiao's memorial? Zhang Xiao means that he should first serve as the governor of Shaanxi and concurrently serve as the governor of Ningxia." The emperor looked at Wang Xijue.

"Ye Mengxiong has learned a lot about people, has the ability to serve in politics, and has led troops to win battles. I have read his articles, and I see that this man has something to say and a strong heart, so he is competent." Wang Xijue said. "Okay, that's the plan. Ye Mengxiong will take over Dang Xin's position, and Dang Xin will step down directly. Ma Gui will act as the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, and the father and son will go to Beijing and have other appointments." The emperor made a decision and said.

"Zhang Xiao is indeed a great talent. To this day, Wei Chen still thinks that he is just a literary minister with some practical talents. This is a big mistake. He is a man of great insight and courage." Shen Shixing said with emotion.

"Yes, I think so too. There is also a memorial of Zhang Xiao here. You can take a look and watch it later, right?" the emperor said.

Chen Ju picked up a thick memorial and placed it in Shen Shixing's hand. Shen Shixing and the others said goodbye and left.

The two returned to Wenyuan Pavilion and opened the memorial. The beginning of it clearly read "Preparing Japanese Zhilue". The memorial was opened and the two began to study it.

"Preparing for the Japanese depends fundamentally on armaments. To deal with the Japanese, weapons and armor are important, but what is more urgent is food and grass. Armies from all over the country assist the Japanese, mostly by land. Liaodong has been suffering from military disasters for many years and is short of food and grass, so food and grass must be transported to Liaodong. .”

"When choosing a battlefield, you must fight the enemy outside the country's borders. You can send a letter to the king of Korea, asking you to be the first to enter the country. Even if you cannot garrison troops in Seoul, you must garrison Pyongyang. If Korea does not allow the Chinese army to enter, you will also need to send personnel Investigate.”

"North Korea is a small country and the people are poor, but there are many nobles in the two classes. They are beating their bones and sucking their marrow. The people are desperate and the army has no fighting spirit. If the Japanese army enters, there will be a tendency to collapse. If North Korea has fallen, North Korean officials cannot be trusted. They will be taken seriously. In order to urge the Celestial Empire to march, they misled the military situation. The army must not rely on North Korea for food and fodder."

"If the Celestial Empire goes to war against the Mongolian Jurchens, everyone will know about it. However, the Japanese are located at the extreme end of the Eastern Barbarians and are always harassed by Japanese pirates. They are never an army controlled by Japan. The Japanese have been studying the Celestial Dynasty for hundreds of years, but our dynasty knows very little about the Japanese. . If you want to start a war against the Japanese, you must make the people aware of the origin of the Japanese. Only then can the crimes of the Japanese be shown the benevolence and righteousness of the Celestial Empire. I am bold enough to write several books, one of which is "Taiping Ji", telling the story of Japanese warriors bullying the monarch. . One is "Fifty Years in the World", which tells the story of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's former lord Oda Nobunaga, and clearly shows that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a man who deceived his master and usurped power. The other is "Yuanren's Conquest of Japan", which can be used as an internal reference. We can learn about Japanese tactics and tactics. In addition, the Japanese have "The Tale of the Taira", which talks about the rise of samurai, and "The Tale of Genji", which talks about the affairs of Japanese royal officials. These two books can be sent to find and be translated."

……

After the two cabinet ministers finished reading, they both let out a sigh of relief.

"This Zhang Xiao, let's not talk about whether the wheel is right or not, the writing style is really sharp, although it is a bit white. If it is left in the history books in the future, it needs to be polished a little more." Wang Xijue said with emotion.

"That's right, as long as the Japanese really invade Korea with a large army, this memorial will definitely go down in history. Now we don't even think about whether the Japanese will come or how to come. This Zhang Xiao has thought clearly about how to march and fight. It's so clear, as if he can see through the future." Shen Shixing also said with emotion.

"But Zhang Xiao is really good enough. In his memorial about military and national events, he also talks about the book he wants to write. Forget about writing a book, what kind of classics are "The Tale of the Heike" and "The Tale of Genji"? It is recommended that it be translated." Wang Xijue commented.

"Don't underestimate these books. This Zhang Xiaoke has won the trust of the Holy One and received important missions by writing books. Since Zhang Xiao specifically mentioned these two books, the translation must be of some use. As for Zhang Xiao wants to write those books. As expected, he should also write out the outlines and even the first few chapters this time and submit them to the Holy One. Maybe the Holy One is reading the outlines of these books at the moment. ." Shen Shixing couldn't help but feel a little envious as he spoke.

(End of this chapter)