As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked.
Since Duke Cheng got his title back, Zhu Yi, the newly promoted Duke, has only taken action in the court a handful of times.
But almost every time, the plan is well planned and watertight.
Unexpectedly, this time, he was so bold.
You know, the emperor's tone just now was obviously extremely displeased, but Zhu Yi still dared to recommend Zhang Shi so blatantly. This is too disrespectful of the emperor...
Sure enough, the next moment, the emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, his body leaned forward slightly, a dangerous look flashed on his face, and he said.
"If I remember correctly, Zhang Tongzhi's granddaughter was the Holy Mother who made the decision and was promised to the second son of Duke Chengguo. In this way, you two can be regarded as in-laws. Duke Cheng has now recommended Zhang Tongzhi to me as the military governor. I don’t know if I’m the official in charge of sealing the job. I don’t want to avoid relatives because of my internal promotion, or... I want to form a clique for personal gain?”
A heavy power came to his face, and this time, the emperor's question was no longer concealed in the slightest.
As soon as the words "forming a party for personal gain" came out, Zhu Yi and Zhang Xi immediately knelt down, and then Zhu Yidao said.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that although I and Zhang Tongzhi are related by marriage, reorganizing the military government is a major matter for the imperial court. How can I dare to have selfish motives?"
"The reason why I recommend Zhang Tongzhi is because this matter was Zhang Tongzhi's first report to His Majesty. Moreover, most of the people in the military government have fallen into disgrace over the years and are entangled."
"Although Zhang Tongzhi has been in the capital for a long time, he first joined the army and did not have many branches involved. In addition, Zhang Tongzhi is the younger brother of Zhang Fu, the late Dingxing King, and has always been prestigious among the nobles and military officials. If he is in charge of this matter, he will be less likely to go there. There is no resistance, so I recommend him to His Majesty without any selfish motives."
This explanation sounds a bit weak.
However, after the words fell, all the ministers present couldn't help but their eyes flickered, looking at Zhu Yi and others with a hint of fear.
If nothing else, just from these words, it can be seen that this young Duke is extraordinary in his knowledge and courage.
By now, it is obvious what the purpose of the two governments is. They just want to promote Zhang Fu to the throne.
However, it is very difficult to achieve this goal.
The biggest difficulty lies in the emperor!
The Fifth Army Governor's Mansion is different from other yamen in that the chief seal officer and the second left officer are basically the emperor's arbitrary affairs.
When it comes to military power, if other ministers interfere, they will easily be suspected by the emperor. Therefore, even the most important ministers in the court are cautious about this matter.
It should be said that with Zhang Shi's qualifications and background, it is enough to become the chief seal officer of the military government. However, the problem is that the British Duke is an old minister of the Supreme Emperor.
Although, after Zhang Fu's death, the British government rarely spoke directly in court, there were many small actions in private.
Especially when Zhang Fu, as an envoy, went to Wala to welcome back the Emperor, the result was a huge commotion, which was a heavy blow to the British government's status in the court.
Of course, more importantly, after that incident, although the British government repeatedly lowered its presence in the court and imitated its own position, in the eyes of many ministers and the emperor, they were probably classified as the Supreme Emperor. One party.
However, unlike the Chengguo Duke's Palace, the British Duke's Palace always left some room and did not make it clear in the court that the carriages and horses were going to Nangong.
However, this can only protect the safety of the British government and not push it to the forefront. If you want to be reused, it will be really difficult.
Zhang Shi and Ren Li are different. Ren Li was able to serve as the military commander because he had great achievements in the battle of Zijingguan and won the final decisive victory in the Battle of Oala. It would be unjustifiable if he did not get promoted to a higher rank. .
But to put it bluntly, Zhang Min is just an enhanced version of a playboy who has basically never been on the battlefield. Although he is now older and has managed to get ahead, he still has nothing to offer if he wants to produce something so good that the emperor has to promote him. .
Because of this, many ministers felt that Zhu Yi's move was a bit unrealistic.
However, it was obvious that they still underestimated Zhu Yi.
What he said just now seems to be a confession, explaining to the emperor that he has "no selfish intentions", but in fact, it is a threat in another sense.
The core meaning is precisely the last sentence...
As Zhang Shi, if he takes the lead in reorganizing the military government, there will be much less resistance!
You should know that officials who can serve in the military government can be roughly divided into two categories.
The first type is the noble children with connections. Of course, this noble children are not limited to the descendants of the princes, marquises and uncles. Senior military ministers such as some hereditary commanders who can be passed down are also included.
This type of people occupies a considerable number in the military government. Among them, there are pure playboys and there are also capable people who have been carefully cultivated.
However, the disadvantage is that they have basically never been on the battlefield. At most, they have spent some time in the military to accumulate qualifications, so their quality varies.
The other category is ordinary military households who have worked their way up from the bottom. These people come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some are frontier soldiers and some are local guards. Most of their promotions are based on their own merits. , these people are relatively more capable.
However, the disadvantage is that there is no background, and the military government is different from ordinary guards. In essence, the military government is more inclined to belong to the military management organization. Although it is in charge of military affairs, it is not responsible for specific drills.
This also means that the affairs in the military government are essentially political affairs. From this perspective, what the military government needs more is not brave men with military exploits, but military ministers who understand politics.
However, for these military ministers who have risen from the bottom step by step through military merit, not many people can understand these things. On the contrary, the younger generations who come from noble families have been exposed to them and are very proficient in them.
Therefore, with the development of the military government, the situation has actually become very abnormal. The former category of people understand politics but do not understand military affairs. Moreover, there are many dandies among them who rely on the power behind them to occupy the military government. upper position.
The latter type of people are capable and understand military affairs, but they lack political acumen and often have no backers. Therefore, when they first enter the military government, they can either only listen to others' orders, or they can only rely on those who have led them to fight before. Build relationships with noble families.
In this way, in fact, Xungui has firmly controlled the entire military government, and the remaining disputes come from within Xungui.
You know, from the Taizong era to the Xuanzong era, although the people used by the previous emperors were different, they were basically checks and balances between nobles, or to put it more bluntly, it was nothing more than those few palaces. It’s just the ups and downs of struggle between governments.
From this perspective, if we look at the memorials written by Zhang Shi, we can actually see a lot of things.
Many of the people on his impeachment list were distant relatives or in-laws of noble families. Even if they had no substantive relationship, most of them had served as generals or had been promoted.
Therefore, in order to rectify the military government, we essentially have to face a huge group of nobles and nobles.
This is Zhu Yi’s true confidence!
If the emperor plans to rectify the military government, then Zhang Shi, who represents the British government, is the best choice.
First of all, as one of the highest-ranking public houses, the British government itself had a huge influence on many military ministers in the military government.
This influence is reflected, on the one hand, in the fact that the backers of many military ministers are the British princes themselves. On the other hand, it is reflected in the personal connections of many military ministers currently in office, and even in some secret misbehaviors of the British princes. We all know it clearly.
Therefore, as long as the British government is willing to investigate, it will definitely be able to investigate thoroughly. This is the deepest secret left by Zhang Fu back then, and it is also the reason why many military ministers today are deeply afraid of the British government.
Secondly, the British government is part of the noble group. Therefore, if the British government comes to rectify the military government, as long as it is done properly, it can completely turn into a struggle of interests among the nobles. In this way, they will face If it were not the entire Xungui Group, the resistance would naturally be greatly reduced.
In addition, the Chengguo Duke's Palace and the British Duke's Palace have already joined forces. If Zhang Shi comes to power, then the Chengguo Palace will definitely help with all its strength. With the support of the two Dukes, the probability of success in reorganizing the military government is, It will definitely be greatly strengthened.
The only difficulty is the emperor's attitude!
It’s no wonder that Zhu Yi and Zhang Xi have always been confident. To put it bluntly, they chose this moment to propose reorganizing the military government in order to take the initiative from the emperor. Now, they are not pleading with the emperor, but... Negotiate with the Emperor!
The emperor was obviously aware of this, and his eyes wandered over Zhu Yi and Zhang Min. However, in the end, he did not say much. Instead, he quickly turned to the other ministers aside and asked with a stern face.
"Gentlemen, you have also read the memorial just now. Do you think it is necessary to rectify the military government at this time?"
Ah this...
All the ministers present looked at each other in confusion, feeling troubled for a moment.
By now, the situation was actually very obvious. The reason why the emperor did not express his position on Zhu Yi's words just now was because it was clear that what Zhu Yi said made sense.
So in other words, Zhang Xi's ascension is the best choice to rectify the military government.
After all, Zhang Xi’s memorial obviously left something to his own devices.
The ministers present were all bright-eyed, and naturally they had already realized that it was not that Zhang Shi had no tangible evidence in his hands, but that if he could not become the chief seal officer of the military government, then he would never give up these evidences. take it out.
In other words, even if another noble minister is responsible for this matter, without the help of the British government, there is a high probability that it will be a futile effort in the end.
If you don't want Zhang Xi to be in power, then the only way is to ignore the matter.
Obviously, this is what the emperor meant when he asked them now, but...
Several elders looked at each other, and they were all a little embarrassed. Logically speaking, they definitely didn't want the military government's power to continue to grow.
However, one of the intentions of Zhang Xi and others in submitting a memorial at this time was to prevent the emperor from mobilizing troops.
Although the emperor had mentioned to them before that there would be no war this time, the rumors in the court had become too fierce during this time.
Moreover, the various actions of the emperor make it difficult not to make people wonder whether the old man is building plank roads openly and secretly making use of Chencang.
After all, it's not like the emperor doesn't always act rogue.
Back at the ceremony, when it was time to salute the Supreme Emperor, the ceremony was clearly agreed upon, but the emperor didn't say anything in advance.
But at the beginning, the old man began to turn a deaf ear to the guidance of the etiquette officer. Apart from complaining a few times afterwards, who could really do anything to the emperor?
So, how to choose?
All the ministers were still hesitating, but among the military ministers on the side, someone had already stood up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I think what Zhang Tongzhi said just now is a strategy for the country. Today Zhang Tongzhi is already in the morning and is presenting this memorial in public. If the court does not respond, then the military government will be panicked. Therefore, I think this matter We must not delay it any longer, and we should order the capable ministers to conduct a thorough investigation as soon as possible to calm the minds of the ministers."
Following the reputation, the person who spoke was Wang Qin, the commander-in-chief of the Zuojun Governor's Mansion.
Wang Qin's father, Wang Tong, once served as the governor of the military government. Although he was a posthumous gift, he could be regarded as an aristocratic family among military ministers. As for Wang Qin himself, he served under Dingxi Marquis Jiang Gui in his early years, and he could be regarded as having military merit.
Although he later entered the military government and did not perform very well, he had a special identity, that is, he was the maternal uncle of Cheng Guogong Zhu Yi.
When he stood up like this, many ministers present also remembered that when the emperor drafted the draft, rumors spread from nowhere in the capital that Zhu Yi wanted to use the draft to send women to the palace in order to regain his title. This matter caused a great uproar. , it is said that there is a nose and eyes, and the protagonist is Wang Qin's eldest daughter.
For this matter, the emperor later made a special edict, promising to marry Wang Qin's daughter personally, and specifically allowing the marriage to be given as a gift from the county lord, which finally put an end to the rumors.
At this time, Wang Qin stood up, obviously to cheer for Zhu Yi. Therefore, this is actually the most troublesome point for the nobles. The relationships are intertwined and can affect the whole body.
Wang Qin's words were obviously not what the emperor wanted, so the emperor just glanced at Wang Qin, but did not say anything.
Seeing this situation, the other ministers were hesitating what to say, but they saw another person among the military ministers stand up and said.
"Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate!"
"It is precisely because the military government has been suffering from shortcomings for a long time that we need to take a long-term approach."
"Today, the situation on the border is tense. Although the Marquis of Changping is in charge, if there is disharmony, it is necessary to mobilize the army. If the army is mobilized, the stability of the military government cannot be ignored."
"Besides, as several adults have said, the atmosphere in the military government has deteriorated. If we want to rectify it, many things will be involved. Therefore, this is not a matter for the military government alone, but is actually a matter for the entire court, especially the cooperation of the Ministry of War. "
"Now, the matter of rectifying the military garrison has not yet been completed, and Yu Shaobao is still outside the capital and has not returned. The Ministry of War may not have time to take care of this matter anymore. All these things need to be considered."
"Therefore, I believe that the matter of rectifying the military government requires more discussion and should not be rushed."
