In front of Fengtian Gate, after Li Xian finished speaking, he immediately felt a wave of substantial gazes coming from behind, which hurt like knives.
However, Mr. Li remained motionless, standing there without moving at all, completely pretending that those people who hated him so much did not exist.
At the same time, many civil servants had the opposite attitude and greatly appreciated Mr. Li's spirit of "sacrifice for the overall situation".
Especially Shen Shangshu from the Ministry of Revenue said with a cheerful look.
"Your Majesty, if Duke Fengguo has such a heart, he is actually the humerus of the country. If all the civil and military officials in the dynasty can be as honest and honest as Duke Fengguo, and put the country's affairs first, then the scene of a wise king and wise ministers that your majesty said will be just around the corner. That’s it!”
Well, these words were a bit too explicit, so much so that the minister who originally wanted to step forward to compliment him couldn't help but hide his face and retreat, while at the same time he couldn't help but vomit silently in his heart.
After all, you are one of the Seven Qings, in charge of the world's finances, and have the entire treasury in your hands. Even if the Ministry of Household Affairs has indeed spent too much in the past two years, and you are a little poor, you won't be so obsessed with money, right?
What's more, Duke Feng made it clear that these acres of land that were donated would be returned to the military, and they were not turned into official land of the Ministry of Revenue. Yu Shaobao didn't say anything. You are a bit too disrespectful. Be reserved.
Regarding these people, Shen Shangshu’s attitude is...
With this realization, I will never be able to eat four dishes in my life!
It should be noted that although the Ministry of War took the lead in reorganizing the army this time, it was not only the Ministry of War that really benefited.
It should be said that if the problem of military camps can be solved, the pressure on various yamen of the imperial court will be greatly reduced. .
The first one to bear the brunt is the Ministry of Finance!
Naturally, the Ministry of Household Affairs will not be able to get an acre of the land that Feng Guogong donated this time. In fact, in the process of reorganizing the military settlements, there will be a lot of privately cultivated land originally registered as civilian land and privately sold to the military. The fields were taken back to the military garrison.
From this perspective, it is indeed not something to be happy about when the land tax of the Ministry of Revenue at the border is going to decrease.
but!
It has been said that the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the world's land and finance!
Does Shen Shangshu care about this scrap of land tax on the border? Who would have known that the military expenditure allocated by the Ministry of Revenue to the border every year has already exceeded one-third of the annual revenue!
Shen Shangshu's heart bleeds every time he sees the expenditure account books of the border army.
And the rectification of military camps is precisely aimed at this problem.
You must know that during the Hongwu period, the frontier army was more powerful, had more people, and had less annual income. However, the annual military expenditure was less than one-tenth of the annual military expenditure.
Shen Yi did not expect to be able to return to the situation during the Hongwu period. This was unrealistic. However, even a slight improvement would reduce the burden on the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Therefore, although Shen Shangshu complained verbally about the rectification of the army this time, it was just to let the emperor remember how much effort the Ministry of Revenue had put in. When it came to actually doing things, this great Situ was unambiguous.
He was not willing to pay such a large amount of silver to redeem his land, not to mention his old face. Anyway, if you think about it, you know that Yu Qian couldn't lose his face to do such an unreserved thing. In this case, what about his wealth-obsessed household? Minister, it doesn't matter if you do it.
As a result, the situation in the court quickly changed from tense situations to mutual compliments and a happy atmosphere.
With Li Xian taking the lead, Jing'an Bo Fan Guang also spoke shortly after.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that Duke Feng is so committed to serving the country that I am ashamed of myself. I have traveled to the border for many years and have seen with my own eyes the sufferings of the frontier soldiers who were bullied and enslaved due to the dereliction of military camps. However, due to the weak strength of the situation, it is difficult for me to do so. Change chronic diseases.”
"Now the court is inspecting the military camps and cleaning up the military discipline. I feel grateful for Your Majesty's kindness for the soldiers on the border. These days, I have also been inspecting the fields in the government on the border. Anyone found to have purchased the land for the military camps privately or was involved in servitude. I have severely punished those who handled the acres of land privately cultivated by the border troops, and I am willing to return these fields to the imperial court."
"However, after all, my power is limited, and there must be some unfinished business. However, as long as the Ministry of War and the Metropolitan Procuratorate raise any doubts about the land clearing, I will do my best to cooperate. Once any land involving military camps is found, , I must return it to the imperial court immediately and accept the appropriate punishment from the Ministry of War, which can be regarded as doing my best for the imperial government."
It was obvious that Governor Fan was more cautious compared to Mr. Li who was always arrogant when he opened his mouth.
After all, he is not as big as Feng Guogong's family, so although his attitude is the same.
However, Fan Guang only voluntarily returned the fields involved in the military settlements, unlike Mr. Li who gave away all the border properties in one go.
But even so, it can very well represent sincerity.
In the final analysis, the Ministry of War has been struggling under pressure for so long, and has come up with a charter that requires the mobilization of the entire government to cooperate. The ultimate goal it wants to achieve is actually to take back the military land that should be taken back.
With Fan Guang's statement, at least when it comes to matters involving Jing'an Bo Mansion, the pressure and workload of the Ministry of War will be greatly reduced.
However, the surprise is yet to come.
Following Fan Guang's appearance, there was another disturbance on Xungui's side. Following Fan Guang, Xincheng Bo Zhao Rong, Wukang Bo Xu Yong, and Wu'an Hou Zheng Heng also stepped forward to speak.
"Your Majesty, although I have been in the capital for a long time, I still have a duty to organize the military garrison. I am willing to do the same as Jing'an Bo and immediately self-examine the fields in the government that are involved in the garrison. Once found, I will immediately return it to the court without compensation. All involved The ministers will definitely deal with any of them strictly, and do their best to organize the military camp for the imperial court."
At this time, there was a real sense of surprise in the court.
Although Li Xian and Fan Guang's statements were beyond everyone's expectations, they were still reasonable.
After all, by now, everyone can see that the emperor was behind the rectification of the army, and both Li Xian and Fan Guang were promoted by the emperor.
Therefore, their position is not surprising. What is surprising is that they are really willing to make such big concessions.
However, to be honest, Marquis Wu'an and others, although they usually stay very close to Feng Guogong, are not the same as Feng Guogong who was favored by the emperor.
Even Zhao Rong, the commander-in-chief of the military government, was obtained in exchange for the capital camp in a strict sense, and could not be regarded as a favor.
They are also willing to do this, but it is really unexpected.
However, the unexpected is yet to come.
Following Zhao Rong, Xu Yong and others' statements, two more people came forward, Yongkang Hou Xu An and Longping Hou Zhang Fu!
The two people came to the middle of Danqi and looked at each other. Then, Xu An took out a memorial from his sleeve and said.
"Your Majesty, today the court is discussing the rectification of the military and military settlements, which affects the court affairs. We, the noble military ministers, are all very concerned about this matter. This time I went to court, and I brought a memorial jointly signed by Dingguo Gongfu and me. We are also willing to do our best to cooperate with the imperial court in rectifying the military settlements and self-inspecting the fields in the mansion."
"Any land that is involved in the military settlements, I am willing to return to the court in full. All the children of the clan and people in the government who are involved in the military settlements should also plead guilty to the court and obey the court's disposal. If there are any that have been resold and are difficult to return, , I am willing to purchase additional civilian land to make up for it, so as to assist the imperial court, restore the military garrison as soon as possible, and purge the border troops!"
As soon as this statement came out, the whole court immediately started to discuss it even more.
However, the difference is that most of the civil servants can't hide their joy, but the nobles have different expressions, ranging from surprise to anger and uneasiness.
Of course, more often than not, there is wavering and hesitation.
Xu An, the Marquis of Yongkang, and Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Longping, are not very prominent among this generation of nobles. They have mediocre qualifications and only have the ability to maintain success. Moreover, they are still young. They are just in their thirties and have no qualifications, so they are in the court. The hall has always been low-key.
However, they have another layer of identity, and it is this layer of identity that makes their opening this time have extraordinary significance.
The Yongkang Marquis Mansion and the Longping Marquis Mansion are both family friends of Dingguo Gongfu!
There are currently six palaces in the Ming Dynasty. Among them, the Duke of Mu controls Yunnan, and the Duke of Wei stays in Jinling. Needless to mention.
The remaining four Dukes are all in the capital and involved in court affairs, but their situations are different.
The British Duke's tree has deep roots, and the Chengguo Palace itself cannot be protected. The Fengguo Palace is in the spotlight, but the Dingguo Palace has never made any sound in the turmoil of the court for more than a year.
So much so that everyone in the imperial court almost forgot that there was such a duke among the nobles.
Of course, the reasons for this are very complicated, and they are all related to the background of Duke Dingguo, his consistent style, and the special circumstances he is facing today.
Xu Zengshou, the first Dingguo Duke, was the son of Zhongshan King Xu Da. He was killed by Jianwen because he secretly assisted Emperor Taizong during the Jingnan Campaign. After Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne, Xu Zengshou was given the honor of a hereditary duke.
Therefore, in terms of the source of the title alone, the title of Duke Dingguo is different from the other two mansions, because the titles of both British Duke and Duke Cheng are derived from military exploits on the frontal battlefield, while the title of Duke Dingguo is , strictly speaking, it can be regarded as the merit of protecting and following the dragon, and has little to do with military merit.
Therefore, fundamentally, Duke Dingguo had no habit or obsession of going to the battlefield, and over time, he developed a low-key style of life in the court.
But no matter how low-key it is, Guogong's Mansion is Guogong's Mansion, and it has its own connections, status and role.
In the past few decades, although Duke Dingguo rarely went to the battlefield directly and did not directly control military power, most of the time, he held positions in the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army and was highly trusted by all emperors. .
Therefore, no matter how the British government and the Chengguo government had their respective ups and downs in the past few dynasties, there would be a tacit agreement to stop it, and there would be no real disputes.
Because they knew that their two houses were not really the only ones the emperor could choose.
This special status and style also attracted a group of nobles who were also unpopular in the court, that is, the nobles who were surrendered during the crisis.
As a general who was surrendered, he was somewhat marginalized whether compared with the Taizong team headed by the Duke of Chengguo or the nobles from the Northern Expedition headed by the British Duke who rose up a little later but were innocent. of.
After all, the nobles at that time were all from the military, and there was always contempt in their hearts for those who surrendered.
Under such circumstances, in order not to be squeezed out, these degraded generals and nobles naturally gathered around the Duke of Dingguo and formed a new political force.
Originally, although this force was not strong, it was quite influential in the court.
But it is a pity that due to the strict family tradition of Dingguo Duke's family, he did not have enough heirs. The second generation Dingguo Duke Xu Jingchang had two sons and one daughter, and the second son was acquired in his later years.
It was passed down to the third generation of Dingguo Duke Xu Xianzhong, who died of illness in the 13th year of Zhengtong. At the time of his death, he had only one son and one daughter, and the eldest son Xu Yongning was only five years old.
According to the court's practice, to inherit a title, unless there are special circumstances, one should be at least thirteen years old. Because Zhang Fu had many military exploits and died fighting for the country, the British government received a special favor and allowed the youngest son to inherit the title early.
However, Xu Xianzhong died of a normal illness, so he had to follow the rules. This led to the fact that although the title of Duke Dingguo had already been determined, he was unable to inherit it.
Of course, this cannot be inherited simply because Xu Yongning is not old enough, which is completely different from the situation in Chengguo Palace.
Because Xu Yongning is still young and his only uncle died young, in fact, there is no real head of the Dingguo Palace today, and all the affairs are handled by the old lady.
This has also led to the fact that the presence of Duke Dingguo in the court is now almost non-existent. During previous turmoils in the court, Duke Dingguo would not speak out, and no one would let Duke Dingguo speak out.
However, it is a prominent public family after all, and not speaking out does not mean that it has no influence.
The Chengguo Palace is in such a state of decline, yet there are so many honorable ministers and aristocratic families who remember their old in-laws and are willing to help each other, not to mention the Dingguo Palace that has always stood firm.
The legacy left by generations of Dingguo Dukes cannot be exhausted so easily.
This is why, although there is an additional Feng Guogong in the court, the people who speak on behalf of the nobles are often Ren Li or even Zhang Fu, who is of noble origin but does not have the highest title.
In the final analysis, although Li Xian was given the honor of being a duke for his support, he was just an ordinary marquis before that, and he was not a marquis with sufficient power and qualifications, so he was only a non-hereditary. There are actually not too many things you can do with the title of Duke.
But now...
Although the two people who submitted the memorial were Marquis Yongkang and Marquis Longping, they were already very close to Duke Dingguo. The memorial also stated that Duke Dingguo took the lead and the three mansions were jointly named. In fact, it can be said that It is regarded as a statement by the Duke of Dingguo.
Of course, it has been more than two years since the previous generation of Dingguo Duke Xu Xianzhong passed away. Counting the time, the little kid who will definitely inherit the title is already seven years old.
At this age, it is actually impossible to make any decisions. More importantly, even if you speak out in the court, you will definitely not be able to reunite the original forces belonging to Duke Dingguo.
So, at this sensitive time, does the appearance of this memorial mean...
Duke Feng Guo, or Jing'an Bo, has already completed the connection with Duke Dingguo, similar to the connection between the British Duke and the former Marquis Ningyuan.
Or to put it more bluntly, does this mean that the person who stands behind Feng Guogong and Jing Anbo has finally achieved results after a long period of infiltration among the nobles?
