Chapter 385 Preparations from all parties
The fifth year of Chongzhen was over. In 1633, the first year of Ming Shengwu officially began. On New Year's Day, after a lot of red tape was abolished, the Ministry of Rites loudly read out the imperial edict of Emperor Shengwu on the conferment of the harem in the Square of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
"The emperor was entrusted with the destiny of heaven, and the edict said: I am your concubine, Li family, with auspicious bells and Huazhou, a well-known family, gentle and kind heart, gentle and kind expression, all six elements are well prepared, and you have been virtuous for a long time. I have proclaimed it in the four religions in the palace, and you are married to my mother. The ceremony is carried out in the world, according to the holy edict, and in the treasure book, she is established as the Empress of the Ming Dynasty. I admire this...
The legitimate concubine, Li family of Liaodong........................., according to the imperial edict, recorded in a treasure book, Become an imperial concubine;
Following the imperial edict, Song Yin was named Concubine Xian, Weng Meixin was consort An, Zhang Ru was concubine Xi, Zhang Shuhua was concubine Virtue, Magnolia was consort Li, and Qi Yuanxiang was concubine Kang;
According to the imperial edict, Chen Ruier was named Chunfei, Shen Zhuangling was concubine Yi, Bai Xinlan was concubine Hua, Li Fengchun was concubine Ling, and Zhang Chunyao was concubine Jing;
Following the imperial edict, Xu Ling was conferred the title of Xuan concubine, Su Manwen was conferred the title of Xi concubine, and Liu Miner was conferred the title of Shun concubine;
The remaining maids were named Zhaoyi..."
After the conferment of the harem was completed, Chen Cao began to boldly announce a series of new policy implementation plans, and personally promised all the previously discussed matters in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, focusing on the establishment of the Cabinet Prime Minister's Office.
For a moment, all the officials were in an uproar, and then there was a cry of long live the mountain. When the Zhu family was the emperor, the purpose of the civil servants wanting the emperor to rule from the top down was to satisfy their personal desires. But now, when the emperor of the Chen family is here, he does rule from the top down, but the military power But it was firmly in the hands of the emperor, and the civil servants could do things casually. Once the emperor realized something was wrong, he would start to disrupt it and start over.
A new Ming Military Joint Commission was established, with each emperor as the chairman, commanding all the armies of the Ming Empire. The committee members were composed of generals at all levels in the army, and were supplemented by members of the upper and lower houses of the State Council.
The Fifth Army Governor's Office will not change its name, but it will need to be restructured. In addition to training the Imperial Navy, Army and Air Force, the Fifth Army Governor's Office is also mainly responsible for the Joint Staff Committee, which is responsible for the function of the staff headquarters in war.
After formulating an administrative work plan for nearly half a year, the first major meeting of the first year of Shengwu came to a perfect conclusion.
Wuying Hall had a new function and became an important place for Chen Cao to discuss military affairs with military officials in the inner palace.
"Your Majesty, according to the news returned by Jin Yiwei's spies, Jiannu's enclosure behavior in Beizhili has aroused widespread complaints, but Jiannu brutally suppressed it with bloody methods;
In addition, the number of Qing troops gathered in Yangzhou reached 300,000. According to reliable information, a large number of firearms arrived in Gaoyou, Yangzhou and other places via the canal. "
After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he glanced at the newly appointed Dongchang Admiral Gao Chong. When Gao Chong saw Zhao Xin's eyes, he quickly clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I, the Dongchang secret spy, secretly reported to Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and other foreign vassal countries. Traded with Jiannu and established an embassy in Tianjin based on the business model in Shanghai."
Chen Cao hummed, and then looked up after a long time: "The firearms of the Three Kingdoms have made some progress, and Dongchang's methods also need to be improved."
Gao Chong was stunned, almost knelt down, and quickly bowed his head: "I am guilty, I will take action immediately."
Chen Cao stared at Gao Chong: "You all know the purpose of reopening the East and West factories. The focus of Jinyiwei is within the Ming Dynasty, while the East Factory is outside the Ming Dynasty. As for the West Factory, you also know that it is responsible for supervising Jinyiwei and Dongchang. Of course, there are other arrangements for the factory. The responsibilities of the two factories and one guard must be clarified. The Jinyiwei now has the weight. The Nanzhen Fusi is still responsible for military affairs. The North Town Fusi is responsible for officials, ordinary people, and some external affairs. means..."
Xu Kai, the admiral of the West Factory, listened first and then bowed his head in agreement. Gao Chong responded again and immediately started to do things.
Xin Zhao handed over his hand: "Your Majesty, could it be that the missionaries in the arsenal leaked the news?"
Chen Cao nodded: "It's very possible. It seems that we need to appease their hearts and tell them that as long as their hearts belong to the Ming Dynasty, they will be given Ming Dynasty nationality and a baron title. Don't these people just like those things... ."
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All people living in Cining Palace were members of the Zhu family. Chen Cao put down his bowls and chopsticks with a smile on his face: "It's rare for the emperor's sister-in-law to ask me to have dinner with her. If I can sit at the same table with the emperor's sister-in-law, the food is extremely sweet."
Zhang Yan was young after all, and her face instantly turned red: "Your Majesty, please don't say that, Aijia... I..." She was speechless for a moment, and then said again: "Actually, I... I have something to ask your Majesty today."
Chen Cao saw Zhang Yan's embarrassment, so he smiled and said in a gentle tone: "Sister-in-law, don't be nervous. You and I can just call ourselves 'I' when we meet in the future. Besides, I don't usually call myself 'I' now." 'I', let alone the outer court, except for major court meetings, it is very casual to call yourself emperor."
After hearing this, Zhang Yan breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "I invite your Majesty to come here today because I want to ask for your help."
"Oh?" Chen Cao was curious: "If the emperor's sister-in-law has anything to say, just ask."
Zhang Yan then said: "The late emperor... no, it's Emperor Sizong's widow, Queen Zhou, no, sister Zhou. After Jiannu entered the pass, Sister Zhou and I were rescued by your majesty, but he and Sizong The emperor had a son named Cixi. At the time of the great change, Cixi’s child was only three years old. Now my sister misses Cixi day and night and wants to know news about him..."
Chen Cao frowned. The vassal status of the Zhu family was easy to say, but after all, Zhu Cixiang was a direct descendant of the Zhu family and belonged to the prince. If he died, there would be another explanation. If he were alive.
Thinking of this, Chen Cao frowned, and then comforted him with kind words: "Don't worry, Sister-in-law, I will ask about this matter in a while. I believe there should be a regulation on the Jinyiwei side. I will come to see you as soon as there is news about Zhu Cixiang." Sister-in-law, you."
Zhang Yan lowered her head to thank her, and Chen Cao suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her hand and said softly: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, if you have anything wrong with living here, just bring it up. I will definitely satisfy your sister-in-law."
As she said that, she took the initiative to loosen her hand while trying to free herself, which made Zhang Yan's face turn red: "I'm leaving, Mrs. Huang, thank you for the food."
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"After I returned home, I carefully reviewed all the intelligence from the north last year. I only learned from one piece of intelligence about King Lu that Zhu Cixiang might have been captured by Jiannu."
Chen Cao knocked on the desk: "It would be easier if he died, but among the people fleeing from the north to the south, there are many old and young people from the Northern Dynasty, so trouble is bound to happen."
Zhao Xin heard the hidden meaning of Chen Cao's words: "It is better to send someone to search first. Once the whereabouts are confirmed, I will go and solve it myself."
Chen Cao glanced sideways at Xin Zhao, then smiled, and then did not talk about the matter: "But if Zhu Cixiang is captured, I am worried that Huang Taiji will make a fuss about him. If the traitor over there makes some damaging moves, even if it is harmless, But it’s also a bad thing for public opinion.”
Zhao Xin clasped his fists: "Your Majesty, I already know about this matter. I will give all the information to Dongchang later. Gao Chong should know the power of it, not to mention that the new recruits in Dongchang include many masters of eliminating enemies from the north. , I sent the masters from the Imperial Guard to work with them, please rest assured, Your Majesty, regarding Zhu Cixiang."
"You are becoming more and more understanding. It seems that being in a high position has its benefits. Go ahead..."
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Since the military affairs discussion went to Wuying Hall, the role of Qianqing Palace has become smaller and smaller. However, Chen Cao doesn't like discussing things in small places like Dongxinuang Pavilion, so the current meeting is still in Qianqing Palace.
After listening to Chen Cao's description, Huang Chunyao was the first to speak: "If I were from the Jiannu side, I would have made a move for Huang Taiji, supported Zhu Cixiang to regain the throne of the Ming Dynasty in the name of the Qing Dynasty, and started a civil war with us. Use Han people to consume Han people."
Xu Fuyuan said: "We are just glad that Brother Yunsheng is one of ours. If such a trick is true, it will be more troublesome for me to deal with him."
"Hahaha..."
Several people laughed, and Chen Cao nodded: "I think so too. If I were Huang Taiji, I would definitely use this trick to deal with my opponents. After all, internal strife will not kill them Manchurians."
"Even with this trick, I thought I still had a chance to deal with it, but only in private."
Chen Cao looked at Huang Chunyao, and then said coldly: "I have ordered Xin Zhao to inform Dongchang of this news."
Huang Chunyao clasped his fists: "Your Majesty, many of the people coming from the north are close friends of the Zhu family. Although Your Majesty is kind and has not taken action, there are still many people from the Zhu family in Shandong who have not been dealt with. If the news of Zhu Cixiang's restoration comes, It may really cause some commotion, not to mention that many of the ministers in the court are from the Chongzhen Dynasty, so they should not be underestimated."
Chen Cao agreed to these words, otherwise he would not agree to Zhao Xin's request. It seemed that everyone around him was determined to deal with the scourge of Zhu Cixiang privately. He then thought of Zhang Yan, and then thought of Chongzhen's wife Zhou. I feel a little embarrassed.
A man who is a king cannot keep the kindness of a woman.
Thinking of this, Chen Cao strengthened his confidence: "There are many people in the DPRK who are in secret collusion with the Jiannu. Our flintlock technology has been sold to the Jiannu by someone who is interested. In order to reduce the casualties in our future wars with the Jiannu, I have decided to launch an attack on Jiannu after May and carry out the original plan to expel the Tartars."
Huang Chunyao clasped his fists: "I second the proposal..."
Xu Fuyuan also nodded: "I also agree, but I don't know what the situation is in the southwest."
Chen Cao handed over an official document: "Let's take a look. In the battle of Chengdu, the commander Peng Han surrendered and opened the gate of Chengdu. The whole of Sichuan has now fallen into my hands. Qin Liangyu and Hong Chengchou joined forces to enter Chengdu. , Zhu Zhishu set himself on fire in Qingyang Palace..."
While the two of them were reading the official document, Chen Cao sighed: "Why are you setting yourself on fire? I won't kill his family. At most, he will be demoted to common people."
The two looked at each other with expressionless expressions. Huang Chunyao said: "It's better to self-immolate. It will save us all trouble. However, in order to appease the people of Sichuan, I think your majesty can order that the princes of Zhujia County in Sichuan and other vassals be demoted to common people, and then resettle others." place."
Chen Cao nodded: "I also have this idea, and it is completely feasible, so I will mention it to you. Do you have anything to add?"
"Your Majesty the Holy Ming..."
"Okay..." Chen Cao stood up and said sternly: "After Hong Chengchou escorts the rebels back to Beijing, the entire army will be prepared, and the plan to expel the Tartars will begin in May."
